To Trust, To Lie
by 8EternallyMortal8
Summary: The Giant War is over, and Percy and Annabeth are prepared to think that things are finally going to settle down, but when they get transported to an Alternate Universe, they're proven quite wrong. With an evil Perseus running around, and an Annabeth who's determined to fight, capture, and kill the enemy half-blood, how can things get any worse?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everybody; I'm finally back! So, first of all, before anyone yells at me about how 'You told us about this story and then took forever to finally update it. You're a cruel human being and we're all going to rebel!'**

**Number One: Please don't rebel, minions; I love you guys, and if you rebel I'd never be able to write more of these FanFictions ever again. ;(**

**Two: The reason I haven't updated is because I actually have a little _too_ much inspiration. You can just ask Don't Touch My Seaweed Brain. I keep sending her little snippets of stories that pop into my head. I'm pretty sure I'm slowly torturing her to death because 1) I won't leave her alone and 2) I'm only giving her small parts of the stories.**

**In other words, if anyone has a right to be rebellious, it's her.**

**Anyway, now this story is finally almost completely written and edited, so you can be sure that I'll update once a day, just like my last story. :D I'm so sorry for it taking so long, but I hope you enjoy; I've been working my butt off to make this story just right for you guys. I hope it pays off. And a HUGE thank you to Don't touch my Seaweed Brain and to P3rcab3thFor3v3r. You guys were a huge reason I kept writing so hard. You deserve a hand.**

**Disclaimer: The credit for the Percy Jackson books belongs to Rick Riordan. The only thing I own is the concept of this story.**

**Dedication: To all of my minions of the past, present, and future. May the Fates grant you a clear path to the story beyond.**

Chapter One

Introduction

For the Fates - the three sisters of destiny itself - it's a deep perception that errors never occur. Though rare, the event of error is inevitable, and, when the three Fates find that the powers at hand do not suffice, they will resort to the strings. The action is a drastic one, and the sisters know full well to never use it unless in times of absolute distress, for the resulting ripple always plunges beings who were never supposed to meet into a booming collide. This story is the first, and hopefully the last time that such a circumstance is destined to occur. Just keep in mind, reader, that not everything is what it seems...

Third Person

Three beings sat around a basket of electric-blue yarn, watching in earnest as they peered at the glowing white orb suspended in the center. Pictures danced across the object; visions of carnage and bloody destruction. The being on the left reached her hand in and grasped something, pulling back outward. A strand of yarn was gripped in her fingers; the vision faded, unraveling into a pile of electric-blue.

"What was that for?" the crone on the right snapped, scooping up the yarn in her gnarled fingers, "That took me an hour to knit!"

The figure on the left narrowed her eyes, "This is too destructive to watch. It's not right. It's not right!"

"That just proves my point." the former declared, "Destiny has gone off track. We need to cut the boy's thread and do it _now_, before any chance of salvation is lost. If we don't, earth will crumble even further, to the point of destruction."

She took out a large pair of scissors and moved forward, reaching for a glowing thread within the basket.

"No!" the old woman on the left screamed in panic, pulling the basket out of the other's reach. "But his past! There's so much he doesn't know! He has yet to redeem himself; he hasn't had the chance!"

"There will be no chance for redemption if we allow things to go on this way."

"Ladies!"

The two sisters stopped and turned to the woman in the middle. For a moment, the beings had forgotten she was there.

"I agree that a course of action should be taken, but cutting the thread is not an option. On the other hand, neither is ignoring the situation at hand."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" asked the sister to the right.

"Sisters, I believe that it is time for the alignment."

The two gasped.

"The alignment?" the left being stated in shock. "But that is only meant for-"

"Yes, yes, I know, but this is necessary. It's nothing like anything we have done before, but that is unavoidable. It must be done to save their future."

"We won't have control," the right being reminded her. "If we do this, they will follow their own course. We won't be able to interfere."

The middle being waved her hand, conjuring a second basket. The woman carefully extracted two strands and held them over the original basket before her.

"It must be done." she repeated.

The two strands fell into the basket on opposite ends. The world burst into a blaze of light, and the three Fates disappeared.

**I hope you liked the beginning. Things are going to really kick off next chapter, so be ready. Also, after this beginning chapter the chapters will be consistently longer than my last story. I hope that makes the story more satisfactory.**

**Review, everybody! :D It earns you the privilege of being a minion (only if you also read and enjoyed this chapter) and it gives me input on how to improve my writing for the future! (Which will make the story more enjoyable for you.) :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Awesome Minionhood! Isn't it a beautiful day? :D Well, from the responses I got yesterday this story is well-received. That makes me happy, and when I'm happy, my inspiration shoots up like a rocket, so good for you! This just means that, since I'm in the midst of writing Chapter Fifteen, when you read it it will hopefully not suck to high heaven. ;D Anyway, on to the messages...**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Thank you! You too have also blessed me, my minion, with you're over-exuberant personality and your tales of wondering sheep. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as well! :D**

**FourthWallBreaker - I'm sure you do, but you're not going to read the ending any earlier then any of the other Minions. ;)**

**Guest - I'm really super glad you liked it. I hope you love this chapter just as much. :D**

**Thank you so much to 1Dpercyjackson, to goddessnaya, and to AngelGirl2000 for Following and Favoriting this story. I'd love to hear a review from you to find out what you think. ;D**

**Disclaimer: Rick doesn't have a crazy-awesome friend who writes stories about sheep.**

**Dedication: To my three reviewers. You guys are the ones that keep me writing. :)**

**NOTE: If you are going to read this chapter _read the summary_. If you don't you will be _very_ confused.**

Chapter Two

Third Person

Percy's POV

Percy was confused, to say the least. He had woken up in a dark room, bound tightly to a chair. The cold concrete walls were bare and lifeless, and there was a queer sensation of powerless-ness falling over him. Whatever this place was, it must've been anti-demigod.

Percy strained against the ropes while thinking back. The last thing he remembered was walking with Annabeth down the beach, then things got fuzzy.

The door burst open, causing the son of Poseidon to squint in the newly bright light.

"He's awake." the boy heard; he knew the voice the instant it registered, but what surprised him was the hint of fury hidden inside it. "You didn't tell me that he was awake."

Percy blinked his eyes open to see a flash of blonde and stormy gray.

"Sorry, Miss Chase." spoke the short boy next to her. "He wasn't when I left him."

Annabeth turned and noticed Percy watching her, his face a mask of confusion. Her eyes bored holes into him, expressing her obvious desire to incinerate him on the spot. Her hand inched toward her weapon.

"That's a new look on you." she snarked. "Normally you'd be flashing that stupid smirk by now. Aren't you going to mock me? behave like your typically-impulsive self?"

"What?" Percy asked, fully confused, now. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, don't play games with me, Perseus. I see you even fixed up a fake eye for the occasion."

Percy blinked at her blankly. Annabeth was starting to freak him out. "What are you talking about?"

Annabeth approached slowly, narrowing her eyes. She grabbed his chin and lifted it, carefully examining his face. The daughter of Athena brought up her finger, poking him in his right eye.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

The blonde reeled back, stumbling across the hard floor. It was her turn to be confused.

"Holy Zeus-"

"Annabeth, is everything alright?"

Percy looked up to see Will at the door.

"I-" the girl blinked at the son of Apollo, her eyes coming back into focus. "I don't know, I..."

The demigod bound to the chair was staring between them, not understanding what was happening. Why was Annabeth acting so weird? What had happened to everyone? He felt a sudden rush of protectiveness. Why _wouldn't_ Annabeth be alright?

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on? What-"

The son of Poseidon stopped mid-sentence. As Annabeth turned back to look at him, he got a glimpse of her arm - Nothing but smooth, tanned skin. Something was missing.

"Your arm,..." Percy faltered, "your scar,... It's gone."

"What are you talking about?" Will asked in a tone of absolute disgust; but the half-blood wasn't looking at Will, he was focused on Annabeth. The daughter of Athena was staring back with a whole new look on her face - one of caution, with fear flickering behind her gaze. It was as if she had thought of something - something he didn't know and probably wouldn't want to.

"The scar - The one from when you took that knife for me."

Will stepped forward, hostility clear in his expression.

"She's never taken a knife for you. What in Hades do you think you're saying?"

"Will," Annabeth spoke abruptly. "Will, I need to talk to you."

"What? What do you-"

The gray eyed demigod grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door. Annabeth turned back at the entrance to the cell.

"Excuse us for a minute."

The door metal clanged shut.

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

The daughter of Athena slammed the door.

"I don't think he's Perseus."

Will looked confused

"What are you talking about? Of course that's Perseus! He looks just like him!"

"That's not what I meant. He responded to the name, but I don't think that he's _our_ Perseus."

Will crossed his arms.

"I didn't know we _had_ a Perseus. Besides, what is that even supposed to mean?"

"I don't know yet." Annabeth admitted in frustration. Her eyes flitted around the dirt-walled passageway as if somehow it would give her the answer. "I'm still trying to figure that out."

"Great," Will sighed.

"_Think_ about it, Will! Just look at him once."

The son of Apollo raised the flap on the door and peeked through before slamming it shut again.

"So the guy lost his eyepatch and got a fake eye. Big deal. I don't get it, Annabeth. What's the problem?"

"His right eye wasn't fake, Will." Annabeth declared, "It was real."

The other half-blood's face darkened.

"Titan sorcery."

The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes. "He's had that eyepatch for years; I'm the reason he needed it, so I think that I probably know at least a little about it. If the Titans had the power to fix it, his father would've done it long ago."

Will looked furious, rage burning behind his eyes.

"Don't you remember what he's done? Have you forgotten about all of the people he's killed?"

Annabeth's heart clenched. She saw the rage quickly melting away as regret replaced it on the boy's face.

"Annabeth, I'm-"

"I think that _you're_ forgetting who exactly is in charge, here." Her voice was venomous, more so than was probably necessary. "You should go, Will."

She turned her back and exited the hallway, not waiting for an answer.

Annabeth re-entered the room and approached her prisoner with a purpose, taking him by the shoulders.

"Who is your father?" she demanded, shaking him. He looked up at her, blinking in shocked confusion at her statement.

"Who is your father?!" the blonde repeated.

"P-Poseidon, but you already know that. Why-"

The girl's heart froze and his words were lost on her. It couldn't be. No, if it was what she feared... "Oh, gods." Annabeth sunk to the floor. "By the gods, we're in _so_ much trouble." She looked back up at him, meeting two bright sea-green eyes. _Two_ of them.

"What's your last memory?" she questioned him.

"You and I were together on the beach, at Camp Half-Blood."

Camp Half-Blood. It had been so long since she had heard the name.

"Annabeth!"

The girl looked up to see one of her half-sisters at the open door. The younger girl looked panicked, her blonde hair tangled from her terrified haste.

"We examined the area where we found him, just like you told us, but- but the source of the power is incredible! It's almost as if-"

"As if there were a dimensional rift?" Annabeth asked, finishing the statement, her head still buried in her hands.

"How did you know?"

"Never mind that now. Is that all?"

"No," the girl said worriedly. "There was another occurrence identical to this one at the exact same time."

"Where?" Annabeth asked, looking up. Her sister handed her the report.

"Wait a minute," the black haired boy spoke from the side, "What's all of this supposed to mean?"

The daughter of Athena bent down to his height, taking his shoulders once again.

"You said that Annabeth was with you when you blacked out?" she demanded seriously, worry building in the pit of her stomach. Two pools of sea green stared back in confusion and protective hesitation.

"Yah, why?"

"Because, that means," Annabeth spoke, now fully standing, "that _your_ Annabeth is with _our_ Perseus."

**Tada! Hope you all liked it. And, um, yes... This story is going to have just as many cliff hangers as the last one, so hold on tight! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Good Morning Minion World! ;D I have another daily Chapter for you! I'm wondering how you guys want me to differentiate between the Annabeths. I _know_ you'll be able to tell apart the Percys, but Annabeth is trickier, sooooooo...**

**To get this out of the way: The cover for the Blood of Olympus has been out for a couple of weeks now. It's kind of weird...**

**Just to let you know, the chapters are on a constant pattern up until Chapter Fifteen. Evens are Percy and Alternate Annabeth. Odds are Annabeth and Alternate Eye-Patch-Perseus. Keep that in mind...**

**ArcherGirl12 - Hahaha, Sorry, but yes, Cliffhanger. And it's only going to get worse from here. Enjoy! ;)**

**chocolatewriter - Don't worry, updates are daily. I'm so glad you liked it! :D**

**AngelGirl2000 - I _am_ updating daily, as a matter of fact. :) I'm so happy I could hook your interest so quickly. Let's hope you like the rest of the story just as much. ;)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Well, technically complaining about the suspense _would _be congratulating me, so you can do both! :D**

**Thank you to SandMan12 for Following and Favoriting this story, to chocolatewriter for Following and Favoriting this story and me, as well as Favoriting Salvation Unseen, to divefr for Following me, to ryosaku59 for Following this story, to P3rcab3thFor3v3r for Following and Favoriting this story, and to Eve Winchester for Following and Favoriting this story.**

**To those of you who didn't review, please do. I'd love to hear from all of you and take your opinions into a account for future writing purposes. ;) Thank you again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't know enough about cowboys to live in Texas.**

**Dedication: To chocolatewriter for his/her Favorites and Follows. I'm so glad you liked Salvation Unseen and hope that this one is even better. :D**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Three

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

When Annabeth awoke, the first thing that registered in her mind was that her ankles were tied and her wrists were bound securely behind her back. She could feel her that the weight of her sword was missing, and its absence caused her chest to tighten up.

As she blinked the darkness from her vision, the daughter of Athena took in the cold, dark cell. She shifted and sat herself against the wall so that she was facing the door. Annabeth leaned back and began to think. As she recalled, the last place the gray eyed teen had consciously been was on the beach.

With Percy.

Annabeth felt a sense of panic slowly gripping her. She spared a glance around the cell, taking in the dark corners of the small space.

No Percy.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened.

"Oh, look, the 'all powerful' daughter of Athena is awake."

Annabeth's head shot up at the voice, almost afraid that this was some kind of joke. There at the doorway stood Ethan Nakamura. Or, at least, someone who _looked_ like Ethan Nakamura. Although his voice seemed the same and his features an uncanny match, Annabeth knew it couldn't be possible. The son of Nemesis she had know had only one eye while this boy's face remained unmarred. That, and Ethan was dead. She stared untrustingly towards the imposter before opening her mouth to speak.

"Where's Percy?" she asked, hostility creeping into her tone.

"Shut up." one of the goons behind him snarked. "Boss-man'll see you when he wants to, not before, and definitely not-"

"Nakamura!"

The voice startled Annabeth. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sound as Ethan and his group turned, but she refrained from smiling. Something was wrong. It sounded colder... Harder.

"Get yourself and your sector back to your positions. I want to see the prisoner."

The traitorous demigods scurried off. A figure emerged into the light of the doorway.

"_Annabeth Chase_."

A chilled grip attached itself to Annabeth's chest when she saw the figure, and she was glad in that moment that she hadn't let her guard down. As impossible as it seemed, the picture in front of her was real. Somehow. There would be no getting out of this nightmare.

Percy Jackson stood before her, his expression one of infuriated distrust. Where Ethan had failed in producing eye-wear, Percy supplied. The half-blood's right eye was covered with an eyepatch. The end of a scar peeked out from underneath either edge. Annabeth's breath hitched as she choked on her words.

"Percy?" the blonde teenager breathed out cautiously, "What happened to your eye?"

The boy's visible green orb darkened even further. "Don't mock me, Chase. You know very well what happened, you little demigod scumbag."

Her anger flared.

"What in _Hades_ did you just call me?"

"Don't look so surprised."

The green eyed half-blood stepped forward, his expression one of absolute bitterness. The sound of his feet echoed across what seemed to be a black marble floor, the small cell filling with the sound of it. Percy bent down next to her and snatched up her chin, forcing her to look up. Behind his visible eye, an angry fire burned.

"I want answers and I want them now. What were you doing in my territory and how did you get past the guards? Or is this just a diversion for another one of your crazy schemes?"

The blonde blinked up at him. She frowned in confusion. For once in her life, Annabeth Chase felt utterly lost.

"What?"

The boy narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me, now! No more of your games."

He pushed her roughly against the wall. Annabeth blinked the spots out of her eyes.

"Percy, I don't understand. What-"

"Why do you keep _calling_ me that?!" the half-blood looked enraged. "My name is Perseus."

The daughter of Athena stared at him as she felt another chill. Whoever this man was, he was obviously confusing her with someone else. And he didn't seem open to giving away free information, either; he was hiding something. Annabeth just hoped that the one-eyed half-blood preferred toying with his prey before he killed it, or she wouldn't live to find out what.

Gods, she wished that Percy was there.

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus let out an exasperated sigh before standing up and beginning to pace. Annabeth was acting strangly, and for once it didn't seem to be because she was playing one of her mind games. He had to be carful, though; you could never tell with a daughter of Athena. The boy didn't quite know what to think. Was she trying to trick him? Why did she seem so confused all of a sudden? The demititan growled in frustration. He glanced back at the prisoner. She was watching him - examining him like a bug under a microscope. Definitely a daughter of Athena. The boy headed for the door; he had to get away from those probing gray eyes.

He stopped at the exit.

"I'll be back."

The half-blood exited the room, slamming the door behind him. His footsteps echoed loudly on the marble floor, the space between the dark columns around him letting in the cool evening air. Flaps of tents fluttered just outside the hall as he made his way through the camp towards his next destination. The columns became solid walls, and the one-eyed commander passed into the compound.

Perseus burst into the tactics room, making the two girls within jump to attention in surprise.

"Lord Perseus, sir?" Mia inquired. "I thought for sure the interrogation would take longer."

"I ran into a little bit of a problem."

The daughter of Prometheus shared a look with Cora, daughter of Metis.

"I need to know what you found." Perseus stated, ignoring the concerned looks.

"It's ... complicated," Cora began.

"We reviewed the cameras," Mia continued, "But it looks like she just popped up out of nowhere."

Perseus narrowed his eyes, "So the demigods have found a way to teleport?"

"No." Cora hurried on, hasty to counter her commander's sarcasm. "It's not that, it might even be worse."

"Like, inter-dimensional-rip worse." Mia supplemented.

"But it shouldn't be possible!" Cora declared. "It's never, _ever_ happened before."

"Stop." Perseus ordered. "Cora, if this really was possible, would there be side-effects?"

The half-blood considered it. "I would say so. Blacking out would be inevitable, and there's a high chance there would be other effects. Unless, of course, a deity sent you through; that would lower the chances considerably."

Perseus waved away the last thought before asking his next question.

"What about the possibility of memory loss?"

Cora was quiet for a moment.

"I'd say it'd be high up on the list." she spoke, looking up.

The demititan smiled wickedly. "Perfect."

He turned and made his way back toward the entrance before stopping and turning back around.

"Oh, and Cora."

"Yes, Perseus, sir?"

"How would you feel about having a sister?"

**These reviews had better be more than just commentary on the Blood of Olympus cover.**


	4. Chapter 4

**OK, first off: I'm ****_so_**** sorry I didn't update earlier this morning. I had to leave the house and things delayed me from coming home and I didn't have WiFi. Grr. But it's OK now. Everything's back on track.**

**Oh, gods, wow. You're all making me laugh inside with joy right now, and we haven't even gotten to tomorrow's chapter yet. I can't wait for the reaction. (And trust me, you ****_will_**** react.)**

**First I have to say a huge thank you to all of my old readers from Salvation Unseen who checked this out. Minions, I love you to death (but hopefully the death part doesn't take effect until after you've finished this story).**

**ArcherGirl12 - Haha, So insistent! ;D**

**chocolatewriter - ;) I'm glad.**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Thanks! And yes, Demititans certainly are an interesting twist... Mwahahahaha...**

**Percabeth24 - That's always been my policy: update once a day. I hope you like this chapter as much as the others! ;D**

**AngelGirl2000 - Shorter? You puzzle me... But yes! I'm always glad to interest my reading Minions! And Annabeth's "sister" will be a deceivingly important piece of the plot... :D Enjoy!**

**Hibernia12 - Hahaha! ;D I will always keep going. I'm super happy that you love it.**

**(Sorry about this everybody, but Abby gave me three truly Ginormous reviews which are calling out to be answered in this Author's note. To those of you who hate unnecessary scrolling, I apologize.)**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - Haha, yeah, right. Sure, I'll be writing those other stories soon... The Fates "an hour to knit" thing crossed my mind while I was writing it, too. It's just kind of meant to be a funny quip that messes with your head. The multi**-**colored-basket theory is cool, but I made them all the same color (sorry, I hadn't thought of changing the color... Cool idea! :D) Yes they watch over multiple versions of the world. I mean, why not? They ****_are the _****powerful beings of the universe. Why can't they watch over more than one? Your unravel theory is awesome, but they were just checking up on the world as it is. So cool, though! I should've used that! :O I just love how you react to these things. You've got me crying from joy on the inside and also laughing at how excited you are. Thumbs up to that! ;D For Chapter Two: No Egyptians. They're distancing him from something that makes him feel whole. That's why he felt powerless. Chapter Three: Oh gods I so love that you're reading this. Yes, Demititan. You're going to catch all of the numerous little hints I put in there leading up to Chapters 15 and 16, aren't you? This is going to be so fun! :D Enjoy Chapter Four!**

**Thank you to SinisterXP, to Percabeth24, to Divine Protector of Mangos, to Hibernia12, to Define Incompetent, to Geek Without Glasses, to Don't touch my** **Seaweed Brain, and to LukeCastellanLover379. Thanks to all of you for Following and/or Favoriting this story. ;D**

**To those of you who didn't review, please do. Believe it or not, I do want to hear from you. Your opinions and fun comments keep me writing and help me develop future ideas and writing techniques.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is Annabeth's and Annabeth's alone.**

**Dedication: This one has to go to Don't touch my Seaweed Brain. Abby your reviews are awesome. Keep emanating that aura of awesome excitement.**

Chapter Four

Third Person

Percy's POV

"Wait a minute." Percy spoke, trying to keep in step with Annabeth as she led him through the labyrinth of dark, earthy hallways. "So I'm evil?"

"_You're_ not evil, no." she spoke back, "As far as I can tell, at least. You are a son of Poseidon, after all. But _our_ Perseus is evil, yes."

"What does my dad have to do with anything?" the demigod asked. "Isn't my dad his dad?"

"No." Annabeth hesitated in front of a door, thinking. "Come on, follow me."

She entered the wide, low-ceilinged room and motioned for Percy to sit down at one of the tables. His duplicate-girlfriend paced tersely across the space and walked into a back room, appearing seconds later with a peanut butter sandwich. She placed it down on the roughly-hewn surface as the lights flickered above them. Frankly, the green eyed half-blood was surprised they had electricity at all. With all of the dank, dirt passages and an ever-present stench to rival Smelly Gabe, he hadn't really considered the possibility of anything modern.

"We keep these here for when Tyson visits. He seems to be fond of peanut butter. He's a friendly cyclops. It's how we get our information to Poseidon and the other gods... Even if they don't answer back."

The black haired teenager looked up. "You know Tyson?" Percy asked.

The daughter of Athena blinked at him. "Right, you're a son of Poseidon. Figures that you would know Tyson in your world."

The teen took his eyes off the sandwich, not really in the mood for food. "So, you said that your Percy doesn't have the same dad as me."

"His name isn't Percy." Annabeth corrected. Her gaze was occupied by the table as she traced her finger over its crevices. "It's Perseus. He won't have anyone calling him anything else."

Percy put his head in his hands. "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

The gray eyed demigod circled around, slipping onto the bench beside him. "You didn't seem shocked when I called you Perseus earlier." she noted calmly. "So I'm going to assume that that means it's your name as well."

"Yeah." Percy responded, picking at the sandwich in front of him. It felt a little repetitive telling Annabeth this, but not telling her wasn't going to help either if them. Besides, he got the feeling that she was only really trying to be nice for the sake of information. If he ticked her off, the daughter of Athena was going to get very hostile very fast. "My mom named me after him because she wanted me to have a happy ending, you know, like he did."

Annabeth did a double take, staring at him a bit dubiously. "You knew your mother?"

Percy looked up at her. "Yah, why?"

She examined his features for a second, taking in his expression to see if he was playing with her. "Our Perseus never knew his mother, only his father. He's a son of Oceanus."

Percy froze, stunned. "Wait, what?"

"You don't have demititans in your world?"

The boy shook his head, swallowing down the well of panic that was building in his throat and disabling his speech.

"Most Titans don't fraternize with mortals" Annabeth explained to him, her voice an informative sigh. "Some of the nicer ones have half-blood children - like Prometheus, for instance - but most Titans don't. Oceanus isn't exactly the kind of Titan you'd expect to have a child, but he obviously does, or else our Perseus wouldn't exist."

"So, they've got an army of demititans." the son of Poseidon declared, letting it all sink in.

"And rogue demigods. That, and monsters." Annabeth informed him. "I mentioned before that not many Titans have mortal children."

"Did Kronos?" Percy asked.

"Did he what?" the blonde asked, her tone a bit terse.

"Have kids."

"Gods, no." Annabeth spoke, acting as if it had been obvious. The green eyed boy wasn't quite sure whether to be insulted or let the comment pass by. Instead, he approached a question which had begun to bother him a little too much for his liking.

"What about Luke?"

The child of wisdom stiffened. Percy knew immediately that he had made a mistake. He watched as her gray eyes steeled. "What about him?"

"Never mind," the boy started, "I didn't mean to-"

"Then don't ask."

The daughter of Athena stood abruptly and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

"Annabeth, wait!"

Percy got up hastily to follow her, leaving the sandwich abandoned on the table. He caught up with her, grabbing her arm. Annabeth rounded on him.

"What do you want?"

He hesitated, slowly releasing her. Percy had to remind himself that this was not his Annabeth. In fact, she was _nothing_ like his Annabeth. The son of Poseidon's girlfriend was anything but this icy, hardened girl before him. He took a breath before speaking, "Look, I didn't mean to make you upset. And besides that, I don't exactly know my way around this place, and from what you've told me, everyone else here will gut me on sight. So you're kind of stuck with me right now."

The girl sighed, putting her fingers to her temples.

"Fine," she agreed begrudgingly, "But don't expect me to be hospitable."

Percy watched as she resumed her quick pace down the hall. It took him a second to realize that he was supposed to follow. Now that he was seeing the scarier side of Annabeth, though, he wasn't sure whether he really wanted to.

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

The blonde haired demigod approached the formidable metal door at the end of the hall, turning the handle and pushing it open. She led the half-blood behind her out of the dark dirt caverns and into the sewer system connected to it. Percy wrinkled his nose as he looked at the disgustingly murky water.

"Please tell me you guys don't drink this stuff."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Obviously not. When we dug out HeadQuarters we decided it would be easiest to connect it to something that already existed. Most of our tunnels branch off into different sewage lines. It makes for easy transportation."

"Well," The boy peered into the darkness around him, "At least now I know where the smell comes from."

"I wouldn't complain," the gray eyed teenager stalked forward, "it hides our scents well enough. Besides" She turned to face him. "at least this way I know even you won't be using that water. Powers or not, you don't look like someone who prefers to dabble with pollution."

Percy followed behind her, not commenting on her statement. She stopped at another hidden door in the wall.

"These tunnels are part of our entrance and escape route. We don't usually have patrol units in this area, so you should be fine unless someone is coming down this way from the upper levels. You can stay here tonight. We'll work on sending you home in the morning."

Percy stopped. "Wait a minute. Sending me home?"

The gray eyed girl looked at him with disdain. "That's what I just said, isn't it?" The half-blood was itching to push the clueless buffoon into the water channel and let it wash him away. She couldn't deal with this right now. Not after what had just happened within the past months.

"I was just told that my friend - _your_ counterpart - is being held hostage by a crazed demititan, and now you want to send me home? I don't think so."

"I'm not stupid." Annabeth snapped. "If there were a chance to get her out then I'd take it, but knowing Perseus, she's probably already dead."

The demigod boy's eyebrows furrowed. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. Behind her, the mucky water flow gurgled a little bit. "You haven't killed me yet. I don't see why you're so determined to think he's any different than you are."

The child of wisdom felt anger welling up at the insult. This boy really was a kelp-headed idiot. "He's a demititan." The blonde growled. "You don't understand how things work around here, so don't you start prancing around acting like you know _anything_ about me or him. Perseus may share your face, but you don't know him at all. ... Not like I do."

"If you know him so well then how come you're still fighting this war!?" Percy defended, his voice rising from stubborn anger. Annabeth's rage flamed in return, but the son of Poseidon just stepped further away from the doorframe. He wasn't going anywhere until this was resolved.

"Don't talk to me that way!" she yelled at him, her voice echoing down the tunnel. "It wasn't my idea to bring you or your precious 'Annabeth' here. And how do you think my men are going to react? It's not like we're just going to throw ourselves into battle for you in order to save someone who may or may not even be alive!"

The green eyed boy just stared at her. He looked at her, or more like _through_ her, and his stance slowly lowered to calm.

"I didn't ask you to."

Annabeth stopped, at a loss. Was that really true?

"I don't care if I have to take on his army myself, but I'm not about to let you send me home."

The daughter of wisdom took a breath and lowered her voice, silently thanking the Fates that the sewers were empty. "You do know that the gods will strike you down on site," she reminded him, swallowing down the fire burning in her throat. "They won't care who you are or where you come from. They already have one Persues to deal with; they won't just stand there watching while there are two of you running around."

"I know." he told her, his resolve not breaking. The girl felt a bit of her persistent anger crumbling, an aching feeling beginning in her chest. She was almost envious of this other girl. - This other her. Annabeth paused; she hadn't felt loved in a long time.

"The others aren't going to like this." she warned him, hasty to interrupt her own thoughts.

Percy laughed a little, which the demigod commander found a bit odd. He smiled. "Don't worry. I'm used to having people mad at me. I don't think you really have to worry about that part."

A silence fell around them. Annabeth cleared her throat.

"You should get some sleep." she repeated. "If we're really going through with this, you'll need it."

"Yeah." He turned to open the door. The blonde just stood there, watching him.

He turned and saw her, both waiting for something without really knowing what.

"I want to help you too, Annabeth." the black haired half-blood spoke up. His tone was... Different. Something that Annabeth wasn't used to hearing during the long period of war. "No one should go through a war alone."

"I'm not alone." The blonde tried to sound firm, but her voice shook a little, and she was afraid for a second that he had heard. "When you're a demigod, you have the curse of never being alone."

She turned away at a brisk walk, not staying to see his face. Annabeth knew she was lying. You could indeed be a demigod and still be very much alone.

**Yay! Here you go! Tell me what you think! ;D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright Everybody, Chapter Five. I have to say, through all of my wicked cliff-hanger cruelty, I just _love_ the end-portion of this chapter. Mwahahahaha. Enjoy Minions. You shall become my mindless helpers! ...**

**Darn, I have to stop saying these kinds of things out loud...**

**_Mandatory notice. Please read:_**

**Anyway, now onto reviewing: I don't know if you guys know this, but I use reviews to help my writing develop for the future. This, actually, is one of the major reasons I write FanFiction. But in order to develop, I need something that tells me _what_ it is in the chapter that you love so much. It also brings great joy to me when I find out that you loved what such-and-such a character did or so-and-what said. :( Now I'm all sad because I don't know what my own Minions think. What do you love, guys? Get excited about it! Tell me what you love! ;D**

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**pjelephants5 - I'm just going to tell you now: I'm not sure how to respond to something like that. If you intended harm then I'll inform you now what I will do: I won't sick my Minions on you; this is a personal matter, not involving them. But I will stop answering your reviews. If you were being nice and simply misspoke, then I apologize. Please enjoy the story! ;D**

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**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - I will smile when the minions tell me what they are smiling _at_. ;) Nevermind. Anyway, I'm glad you thought I did well on stressed Annabeth. It was both fun and sad writing it. Enjoy that chapter! :D**

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**Dedication: To my sister, FourthWallBreaker, and to my friend, P3rcab3thFor3v3r, who has taught me to always remember to smile. :)**

Chapter Five

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth was examining the close-knit marble pillars that made up her cell's walls when the door slammed open and three figures stepped in. Perseus walked in with a dimly lit torch, followed closely by two girls. The raven haired boy handed the light to the red head behind him - the hesitant-looking one - and stepped forward.

For two full minutes, the commander and his captive sat examining each other, neither backing down. And then Perseus smiled. He approached the blonde and knelt before her, to all the world the very personification of kindness. The half-blood looked almost gentle, but Annabeth knew differently. The small hint of a wicked smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, telling the daughter of Athena all that she needed to know.

The demigod stared at her boyfriend's look-alike warily, but frowned in over-exaggerated bewilderment. She needed to be convincing in order for this to work.

"I'm sorry about before." Perseus spoke, obviously making an effort to act charming. Annabeth couldn't really say that he was failing at it, either. "I wasn't sure if you were really you."

He brought his hand up, brushing his fingers against her cheek. The demigod flinched back. Her head throbbed at the recent memory of him throwing her against the wall. She looked up to see Perseus feigning hurt, but she could see cruel amusement playing behind his one eye.

"Don't worry Annabeth, I won't hurt you." he spoke softly. For a moment she thought of _her_ Percy; the likeness in the voice stung her.

"I think we both know that's not entirely true." the blonde spoke plainly. Her voice came out with a bite of annoyance, but that was alright. The Percy she knew would've been perceptive enough to see right through her if she feigned weakness, and something told Annabeth that this boy wasn't all that different, at least in that aspect. Besides, the best kind of lie was one built on a half-truth. More than anything, she wanted to snap at him for his own deception, but she would have to settle with this for now.

He dropped his hand. The one-eyed demigod let out a breath of dramatized defeat. "Alright. You always did like the facts first before you put your trust in something. So we'll do it your way."

Perseus brought his eye up to meet hers and the daughter of Athena felt a shock go through her. He didn't seem to be lying - at least, not all the way - but he wasn't exactly telling the truth. Somewhere along the line, he had met _an_ Annabeth, but based on his actions earlier they obviously hadn't agreed on much. Her vision strayed to the dark patch covering his eye.

The teenage boy cleared his throat, noticing where her gaze was trailing. Annabeth probably would've smiled at his discomfort if it weren't for the disturbing fact that he looked almost identical to her boyfriend. The thought left her stomach turning.

"It was around two years ago, maybe three," Perseus began, his voice much calmer than it was an hour before. "You were on a recon mission with a couple of others to investigate a new development in where we might find demigod HeadQuarters. It was supposed to be a clean mission - get in, get out, gone. But it didn't turn out so well. You apparently made a breakthrough, but you never got the chance to send us word. There was an ambush set up and your whole team was massacred except for a runner who was sent back with the message that you had been taken prisoner and that all of the others were dead."

He swallowed, the raw emotion in his voice almost sweeping the blonde away with the story. Annabeth mentally slapped herself. This was not Percy. This story was a ploy to gain her trust, and she needed to focus on what was truth and on what was fiction. Whatever information she got, the hidden details might somehow lead her back to Percy and tell her where in Hades she was. _That_ was the important part.

Perseus glanced up at her and the grey eyed half-blood molded her expression to be one of interest. He eyed her for a second before his shoulders relaxed a fraction and he nodded, continuing.

"Three months later, we found out the gods had developed a sort of 'clone' of you using one of the few children of Hecate on their side. They proclaimed her a daughter of Athena and put her in charge of their army. You had been our tactics expert, and they used the knowledge you already had to their advantage. With that knowledge they rampaged our camp and destroyed many of the Titans, including our own master, Lord Kronos."

Here Annabeth stopped. Her blood turned cold and it was all she could do to refrain her back from stiffening. Lord Kronos. Their _Master_ Lord Kronos. Now the child of wisdom knew for sure that she had to get out of there. That, she supposed, was the one piece of information she was dreading most - the one she had unfortunately suspected. She took a breath and turned back to the three. They were all watching for her reaction.

"Sorry, um, my head kind of hurts." she told them, "But who's Lord Kronos?"

The green eyed half-blood seemed to let out a shaky breath of relief. "Oh, it doesn't matter right now. You'll find out soon enough. As of now, I have a very important question to ask you:

How much _exactly_ do you remember?"

The blonde eyed him, wondering just how much she could get away with making them believe. "Why should I trust you? How do I know that any of what you've just said is true?"

Perseus grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Tell me!" he growled, his grip becoming harder.

Annabeth looked up, genuinely startled. The boy quickly retracted his hands as he realized his mistake.

"I'm sorry." he said again, his voice softer, but still somewhat forceful. "But I need to know whatever you can tell me. You can trust me."

"Well, in my defense, you did show some very violent tendencies the last time you were in here with me." The blonde threw back at him.

He let out a melancholy chuckle. "I thought you were the fake." he told her soothingly, now running his fingers through her curls. Annabeth wanted to make him stop touching her, but she held her tongue, instead sending him an unsure expression. She needed information; she didn't need to let him know how qualified she really was.

"Alright," Annabeth spoke quietly. She took a breath and continued, "I remember my name. And I know your name. Well, your first name, at least. But you look ... different than I remember."

She saw Perseus clench his fists before the tension released slightly.

"Ah, yes..." his eye flashed. "That would be the doing of your ... _counterpart_. ... Is there anything else?"

The daughter of Athena shook her head. A hint of a smile ghosted itself across the boy's features. He turned and motioned for the other two to enter. One of the girls spoke up.

"I'm Cora, daughter of Metis, Titaness of wisdom. I'm your ... _half-sister._"

Annabeth looked her over. With her strait, waste-length black hair and pale, delicate features, the girl looked almost nothing like her. The only similarity was her eyes, and even those seemed a deeper, darker gray than Annabeth's.

"This is our friend, Mia. She's a daughter of Prometheus."

A girl with deep, brown-red hair waved at her nervously. Both girls seemed to be close to Annabeth's age, but she couldn't quite tell. What shocked her the most was the parentage.

Demititans...

_Demititans_.

It seemed so impossible, and yet...

"What about you?" Annabeth asked, looking up at Perseus. The boy's eyes flashed with a sudden, hidden rage.

"My mother is dead." he spat out venomously. "Killed by that sea-stealing god Poseidon. My father is Oceanus, Titan of the sea."

He turned away from the three girls and stalked to the open door.

"Mia and Cora will show you to your sleeping quarters." he spoke, not turning around. "Get some rest. You'll learn more in the morning."

Then Perseus was gone.

The two girls undid her bonds and led her to a bedroom. Once they had gone, she lay quietly, thinking over what had just happened. This Perseus had told her that there was another Annabeth. That meant that he already knew there were two of them, and odds were that he had found out how she'd gotten there, too. From the looks of things, though, the demigod could guess that Percy hadn't appeared in the same place as she had, or else this world's Perseus wouldn't have acted the way he did when she first woke up. And if she had ended up here with Perseus, then _her_ Percy was probably with the other Annabeth. She just hoped that her counterpart wouldn't kill him before she could find a way to get to him, because, if their roles were reversed, she wasn't so sure she would hesitate to act first and ask questions later.

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus watched the monitor intently as Annabeth drifted off to sleep. He wasn't entirely sure if she was telling him the truth, but only time would tell. It didn't really matter, though. She wasn't in her world anymore, she was on his home turf. He didn't know how things were run on her earth, but he had the distinct suspicion that it wasn't anything like his own. And this Annabeth had seemed a little too innocent-minded when she had first seen him after regaining consciousness. If she _did_ have her memories, he wasn't sure which side of this war she would be fighting on. It would be best to keep her under observation.

"Commander Perseus, sir,"

The demititan turned to see a messenger at the door.

"Your father has requested an audience with you."

He nodded to the boy, dismissing him before beginning his journey through the compound. Perseus stepped in front of the large black doors leading to the Titan's chambers. The pictures of destruction carved into the surface always twisted his stomach, no matter how much he tried to steady himself. He would never admit it, but Perseus feared his father. Where Mia and Cora had a healthy, awe-full respect for their parents, he was left trying to please a ruthless tyrant. His loyalties may have lain with his family - especially after the fate of his mother - but it didn't make the Titan any easier to love.

The boy took a deep breath and entered the chamber.

Oceanus sat on a throne cast deep in shadow. Perseus knelt down in front of him, head bowed.

"Father."

"Perseus. I sensed a blast of power earlier; I assume that you have investigated."

"Yes father." the boy spoke, staring down at the floor, still in a kneeling position. "It seems to have been a dimensional rift. A girl came through. She appears to be missing her memories. I assume you know-"

"Yes, I know who she is." snapped back the Titan. His snake slithered around his shoulders as Oceanus rubbed its scaly head. The reptile slid down, approaching Perseus; it circled him, rubbing itself up against his form. The boy flinched away slightly, bringing a hiss of amusement from the disgusting creature.

Oceanus carried on uncaringly.

"I will allow your little experiment to proceed, but if anything - and I mean _anything_ - goes wrong, _you_ will take full responsibility. Have I made myself quite clear?"

"Yes, father."

"Do not fail me, Perseus."

The sea Titan waved his hand away, signaling his son's dismissal. The demititan was at the entrance when his father spoke again.

"Oh, and Perseus, try not to stand out there too long next time. It might give some of the men the opinion that their leader is weak, and we don't want that. Do we?"

The half-blood clenched his green eye shut tightly before taking in a shaky breath.

"No, father."

As the boy left the room, the Titan gave a dark laugh, chuckling under his breath. Playing this game was oh so _very_ fun.

**_Mwahahahaha..._**


	6. Chapter 6

**Slowly I'm getting my full inspiration back for writing. Doctors should prescription Minion Reviewers all the time! You guys do wonders for my health! ;D**

**Hibernia12 - Hahahaha, Yes, I have succeeded! Suspense!**

**ArcherGirl12 - Thank you! ;D**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - I like being evil, and clever is a good word for it. This would be why I'm the evil Minion Master. ;) And YAAAAY! to Suspenseful endings. :)**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - Gosh, I will never stop laughing around you. You're just so genuine! ;D I believe I touched upon many of the subjects in my PM, but to the rest: you'll have to wait and read to find out. Watch for my hints. They're everywhere! :D Good luck, Abby!**

**Thanks to Pegasus33 for following this story. :)**

**Disclaimer: Uncle Rick can have his Author-world. I like responding to my readers all the time. ;)**

**Dedication: Don't touch my Seaweed Brain, you really are something else... :)**

**Enjoy, everybody!**

**(P.S. I hope I didn't offend anyone last chapter with my long ranting note.)**

Chapter Six

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

Annabeth awoke to frantic cries of panic. She found herself being shaken awake by a jumpy satyr with a familiar face.

"Grover?" the child of wisdom asked groggily. "Wha-"

"Annabeth, I can't explain just now; you need to come with me right away."

Her friend gripped her arm and pulled her up off of her deteriorating mattress, dragging her hastily into the hallway.

"Wait, what are you-"

"I just got back from conferring with the nature spirits. I found him in the outer tunnels. You'll never believe it!"

The satyr threw open the door, and what Annabeth saw made her groan.

"_Grover_..." she moaned with her head in her hands.

"Thank the gods, Annabeth." Percy looked around him, still bleary-eyed from sleep. "Is this your idea of a welcome party? Is this some routine thing for you guys? To tie me up whenever I fall asleep?"

The blonde had to restrain another groan. This boy was obviously not a morning person, and it was not having a very diplomatic effect.

One of the half-bloods in the group surrounding him prodded the boy sharply with his sword.

"Shut it, Perseus."

Apparently Annabeth wasn't the only one Grover had woken up in his overly-eager state.

"Why does everyone here have to use my full first name?" Percy expressed in an exasperated complaint. "I really hate it when people call me that. Why can't you all just call me Percy?"

Annabeth sighed in annoyance. "Let him go, Grover."

The satyr blinked, his smile vanishing.

"What? But Annabeth -"

"Please, just do it." The demigod held her hands to her temples and her eyes closed as she massaged her overly-tired head.

As the grumbling half-bloods untied Percy, Annabeth approached him. The daughter of Athena looked at him warily.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

*Line Break*

Word spread quickly of the morning's incident. As she walked through the halls, Annabeth heard mutterings of conversations, frantically paused at the appearance of her and her 'guest'.

Percy was surprisingly calm - as if he got himself sucked into alternate dimensions every day - but she couldn't help but feel a sudden unease at the reactions of her comrades and friends.

The hallway chatter suddenly died entirely. Annabeth looked ahead to see the son of Jupiter storming towards her, his eyes burning with a raging fire. The boy set his sights on Percy and launched himself forward, only to have Annabeth intercept him and expertly judo-flip him onto his back, flat on the ground. She got down and put her knee on his chest.

"And what exactly do you think that you're doing?"

Jason blinked and shook his head before looking up. He glanced past the daughter of Athena toward the son of Poseidon and growled, making an effort to yet again get up, only to be pushed back down.

"Let me _go_, Annabeth! I'm going to kill him!"

"Jason?" Percy asked, his expression one of awkward confusion towards his cousin's rage.

"Hades, yah. Who did you expect it to be? What, are you here to finish _me_ off, too? Then do it already! You've even got _her_ helping you now!"

"Jason!" Annabeth yelled, drawing his attention back to her. "This isn't what you think."

"And _you_!" the Roman demigod yelled out, "Nico's dead and you're not even mourning. And now you bring ... _this _in here. You told me once that you wanted to kill Perseus more than anything else. Don't you remember what he did to Luke? What happened to that?"

"Wait." Percy stopped, frozen in what Annabeth took to be shock and horror, "Nico's _dead_?"

"Yes, he's dead!" Jason shouted in untamed rage. "_You_ killed him, just like you killed Thalia!"

Annabeth pushed Jason roughly back down towards the floor.

"Don't you _dare _talk to me that way, Grace. Nico was our best operative and my closest friend after ..." she cleared her throat, and her anger resurfaced. "Of course I'm mourning, just like everyone else, but that doesn't give me the right to kill an innocent. And don't you ever, _ever_ bring up Luke again, do you understand me?"

Jason's face lit up with anger and confusion. "Innocent? He's not _innocent_!"

The child of wisdom pushed him down again. "Do you understand me?!"

"Yes, fine; let me up! I won't touch your stupid pretty-boy again!"

Annabeth let him up and Jason dusted himself off, giving Percy a dirty glare as he walked out.

Annabeth glanced at the wide-eyed crowd around them.

"Well, what are you standing around for? We have work to do, people! Get beck to your stations!"

As the audience once again began moving, the blonde half-blood pulled Percy into an empty room. He swayed before leaning against the wall and sliding down - hard. Percy blinked, like he was waiting for it all to disappear.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Nico," he mumbled to himself, "and Thalia, and how many more..."

"Percy?"

The boy didn't respond. He just looked... Lost.

Annabeth knelt by him and examined his face. "Just how different is your world from ours, really?"

He looked up at her, and she almost took a step back from the piercing gleam in his eyes. "This isn't only your war, now. What do you want me to do?"

Third Person

Percy's POV

It was official. Percy missed the Dining Pavilion. Annabeth had taken him to the low, long room he had visited on his first day and had immediately stowed him in the kitchen. He hadn't exactly realized what the room was meant for before - he was more accustomed to the white pillars and blue skies of the dining hall at camp - but now he got the chance to see exactly what it was.

The demigod cafeteria was made of hard packed dirt for walls, floor, and ceiling. Miscellaneous collections of light sources hung precariously from the ceiling - lamps, candle chandeliers, and even bare light bulbs - as if someone had designed the room in haste and never bothered to re-work it. And tables upon tables were packed in - almost on top of each other - wherever space could be found. Those same tables were now filled with demigods. The same demigods who within the next few minutes would have their lives changed drastically.

For better or for worse.

Percy was snapped from his thoughts as Annabeth rose at the head table, her back facing towards him. He knew what was going on; they had gone over everything earlier that afternoon. The plan was simple enough: Either they would accept him, or he was on his own.

The room quieted down when the half-bloods noticed their leader standing before them. The conversations puttered to a close, and hundreds of pairs of eyes gazed forward, but Percy noticed that some - like Jason - held a piercing look of judgement. Not for the first time, part of Percy wondered if he was doing more harm by being here than helping.

"Fellow demigods," Annabeth began, her voice calm and her stance unwavering. "Some of you may have noticed that we have an extra half-blood in our midst."

Whispering consumed the tables, but Annabeth soon hushed it with a glare.

"Our guest is not someone we would commonly welcome with open arms." she continued. Percy noticed that her gaze was now directed pointedly at Jason. "But this is no common occurrence. Recently, our boundaries were breached - not just the boundaries of our base or of our personal assurance of safety, but off our world - our dimension. As a result, we are the hosts of a half-blood on a journey to find someone. He's also come looking to aid us. This is not the Perseus you know, but another being entirely. Everyone, this is Percy."

The black haired boy took this to be his cue and stepped forward into the firelight. Those who hadn't heard about the recent incidents gasped. The rest eyed him with wary distrust and hints of disdainful fury. Percy was fairly certain that he heard Clarisse growl.

Will stood up. "You mean there are _two_ of them now?" he demanded, pointing his finger at the green eyed teen as if he held the plague. "And your just letting him walk around the base of his own free will?!"

Jason stood next to him, pure rage written across his features. "It's bad enough that we have one powerful demititan running around, Annabeth. I normally trust your judgement, but this time you've gone too far, especially after recent events. Kill him now, before he murders the rest of us. It seems to be a hazardous habit of his."

There were grumbles of agreement spreading throughout the crowd, followed by nods of disgruntled approval.

"Wait." Annabeth spoke. "Just hear him out. He's not who he seems to be." She glanced over at him and their eyes met. The son of Poseidon could read the emotions behind her eyes. He needed to convince her just as much as anyone else. The demigod began to feel something that was usually banished in the company of the daughter of Athena that he knew: un-surety.

Percy took a deep breath and stepped forward, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of a room full of angry stares directed at him.

"Annabeth hasn't explained much to me since I got here, but explanations aren't always as effective as seeing for yourself. It's written on the walls of this place, on your faces, and in your actions. Whatever Perseus has done to you, you have good reason to hate him. Reason I now have as well. My father isn't Oceanus, like the enemy you know; I'm a son of Poseidon."

Nobody moved. Jason sat glaring at him before standing stiffly and taking a threatening step forward. "You've already killed off my family, and now you're trying to write yourself off as my cousin. Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Because I'm swearing it on the River Styx."

Thunder roared and the ground shook, but even when the violent quaking subsided and Percy was found still standing, grumbles resounded through the crowd.

"If you're really from a different world," a voice spoke up. Percy turned to see Leo standing behind him, his face doubtful and lacking its famously crooked grin. "then how do we know that our rules apply to you. I say we have Piper test him out to see if he's lying or not."

"And why would I want to test that?" Percy stated, meeting the Latino's eyes with his own steady gaze. "Why would I risk death if I was anything like the kind of person you think I am? I'm not here to make your lives miserable. When I was sent through, the Annabeth from my world was with me. Your Annabeth had the area checked, and discovered that a similar occurrence happened in Perseus' main base. You need him gone, and I need to get Annabeth back. Plain and simple: we work together."

"You may have proven that you're a demigod, punk," Clarisse broke the silence, her voice full of malice, "but that doesn't mean that we'll help you. How do we know that you're even working with the gods of your world? There are plenty of half-bloods who've abandoned the Olympians; for all we know, you're one of them."

"I'm not asking you to trust me." Percy announced, his voice now confident, although, there was a slight nervousness crawling down his spine. "At least, not completely. I don't expect you to throw yourselves directly into the line of fire for me; I just want you to get me there. After that you don't need to help me at all if you don't want to. I'll do what I can about Perseus, get Annabeth out, and be on my way. I'll even find my own way home if I have to. You'll never need to see me again."

Silence reigned.

"Why do you want to help us?" Jason spoke stiffly. He stared down the black haired teen, but it wasn't as harsh this time - more fragile - as if his angry façade was beginning to crack. It hit Percy hard. Sure, the son of the sea god was stuck in this world, but this _was_ Jason's world. The Roman half-blood had been living in a nightmare for so long; it wasn't hard to believe that maybe he'd lost just about his last bit of hope.

"Because," the boy spoke evenly, a hint of melancholy painting the edge of his voice, "believe it or not, Jason, I'm not the bad guy."


	7. Chapter 7

**Morning, Minions. ;) It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and I'm almost done with Chapter 15. It's time to spread the love! In this chapter you get a small glimpse at the characteristics of Mia and Cora. That will be important for later on. Enjoy! :D**

**Hibernia12 - Yeah, things are getting rough at demigod H.Q. It almost seems like it's worse for Percy than it is for Annabeth.**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Hahahahaha, yes, Percy will always have a special place in our hearts. Thank you for your flattery. ;)**

**ArcherGirl12 - Don't worry, I will. :)**

**Thank you to ItCameFromOuterSpace, to BeastilesDargion, to lonie b, to Gazimu, and to mkay2 for Following and/or Favoriting this story.**

**To those who haven't been reviewing, with all of my heart: please do. Reviews make me joyful and inspired. They influence how I write. And I love hearing from all of you. Thanks! Enjoy! ;D**

**Disclaimer: I have to edit my own work. Wait a minute... If I have the minions and Rick doesn't, how come he gets an editor and I don't? **

**Dedication: To all of my devoted minions. I write for you, and without you there would be no story.**

Chapter Seven

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus blinked groggily and looked up to see Mia nudging him awake.

"Wha-"

"Lord Perseus, sir, there's a problem in the monitor room. Ethan is intent on sending down guards to Miss Chase's room. We tried to convince him not to, but he thinks she escaped the holding cell on her own."

The demititan rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock, sir."

Perseus jolted up. "_Four in the morning?!_ Why are all of you up this early in the first place?"

Mia stumbled over her words, blushing. She averted her eyes from her commander in embarrassment. The green eyed boy looked down to see his bare chest clearly visibly. He sighed in exasperation. "Just give me a second."

Mia dutifully turned away as Perseus slipped on jeans and a t-shirt. He walked with her to the door.

"What's the current status?"

"Ethan's trapped in the monitor room. Cora's distracting him now."

The son of Oceanus grumbled and ran a hand through his hopelessly-messy hair. "Remind me again; _why _is Ethan up at this specifically inconvenient hour of the morning?"

"It's his guard shift, sir. Cora and I heard him tromping around in the monitor room, preparing orders. He's convinced that she's the other Annabeth."

Perseus sighed as he pushed open the door to the monitor room. This was going to be an _especially_ long day.

"Ethan!" the demititan leader called out as he entered, "Calm yourself down and get back to your post."

"But sir," the boy argued. "Cora is distracting me from my duties. The girl escaped from her holding cell and I'm just trying to-"

"Ethan, if she had really escaped from the cell, then why is she still in the building?"

The son of Nemesis stood gaping before abruptly closing his mouth, lips pressed tightly together.

"So you knew about her, then." the boy spoke darkly.

"Yes, and my _father_ knows about her as well. Now that I'm up you might as well know about it. Wake up the others and send them up to the debriefing room."

The younger boy grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I already have, sir."

"_What?_"

Ethan gave him a glare. "They're already up. I sent an order out as soon as I noticed Miss Chase."

Perseus narrowed his eye. "And why didn't _I_ hear about this?"

"Maybe if you weren't to busy playing around with your little girlfriends, you'd know more about what's going on around here ... _sir._"

The son of the sea Titan grit his teeth, clenching his jaw tightly shut. "You will find your way to the debriefing room - _now_. Let the rest of the men know that I'll be there to inform them of the situation when I see fit. I expect you to do your job - nothing more and nothing less."

Ethan reluctantly carried out his orders, but not before sneaking in a glare toward his superior officer.

Mia came up behind him.

"Perseus?"

"Take Cora and go with the others. Make sure that Ethan is actually doing his job. I'll meet you there when I'm ready."

Mia looked like she wanted to protest, but Cora saw his expression and cut her friend short, whisking her off to follow the others.

Perseus ran a hand through his hair as he sat down before the monitors. Ethan had always been an interesting case for him. The difference between rogue demigods and demititans was that, while the demititans were there in support of their parents, most of the demigods just wanted revenge - Ethan especially. When Kronos had been in charge there hadn't been a problem; everybody feared him and submitted without question. But ever since Luke's demise and Perseus' rise to power, Ethan seemed to have more trouble following orders. If he didn't think it helped his own personal cause, he would be less inclined to listen. And, without the fear aspect, there would be nothing to encourage him to listen; after all, the son of Nemesis had never really applied any respect in the first place.

The son of Oceanus gazed at the image of Annabeth captured on the monitors. He was starting to wonder if any of this was really worth the effort.

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

As she walked through the torch-lit halls, Annabeth could feel the unnerving intensity of every eye focused on her. Mia was trying to keep up a conversation as a distraction, but Cora - Annabeth's 'sister' - seemed to know it wasn't worth the effort. She prodded Mia, telling her to let the blonde be, for which the demigod was greatful.

"Why is everyone staring?" Annabeth inquired as she met a boy's gaze and he turned away. She already knew the answer, of course, but she wanted to hear it from them.

"Oh," Mia stuttered out, "We'll, umm-"

"They're just uncomfortable, is all." Cora saved her friend. "They're still conflicted as to what to think. Most of them, when they think of you, now think of the enemy and of the duplicate-you. It was always easier for us to think of a target that needed to be eliminated than the loss of one of our own. But don't worry, they'll adjust."

"What about Perseus?" the gray eyed teen asked, "I haven't seen him all day, not even at lunch."

Cora flinched and fell silent. Mia picked up the conversation. "Lord Perseus... well, he's having a rough day. It's better just to leave him be."

"He usually keeps to himself." Cora mumbled. "And something tells me that today isn't going to be one of those days where he visits."

Annabeth picked up on the slight tone of annoyance in the other girl's voice.

Mia sighed. "It's not his fault. It's just something that Ethan said."

"He doesn't have to go off and sulk about it." the daughter of Metis snapped back.

"Well," Mia spoke, "You know he's never been the same since Luke passed."

Cora stiffened and stopped; Mia snapped her mouth shut as soon as she realized what she'd said, but it was too late to take it back.

"Who's Luke?" the daughter of Athena questioned them, innocently, yet demandingly. She knew it was cruel, but the question needed to be asked. Cora turned and glared at Mia, causing the red haired girl to shrink back.

"Sorry?"

The child of Metis turned to Annabeth. "Luke is none of your business; Perseus will tell you when he feels the time is right. _If_ he feels the time is right."

The blonde wanted to snap back that _of course_ Luke was her business. She should be the one to know before anyone else! But the girl bit her tongue. A picture of Percy flashed into her mind for a second - a memory - his voice angry and dejected: "And now your worried about Luke again," She pushed it aside for the moment; Annabeth could afford to feel guilty later, when she was _out_ of a life and death situation.

"Fine," the gray eyed teen gave in. "I'll just have to ask him about it next time I see him."

Cora's piercing gaze once again shifted to Mia, as if to say 'Now you see what you've done?'

***Line Break***

As it turned out, Annabeth's opportunity to speak with Perseus came sooner than she would've thought. After eating dinner with Mia and Cora, the blonde had decided upon heading back to her temporary room. Mia had wanted to come with her, but Cora still seemed agitated from earlier. And there was no way the daughter of Metis was going to let her friend go anywhere with Annabeth alone; she might end up spilling more about Luke or other touchy topics of choice. So the gray eyed half-blood found herself wandering alone down the winding black marble corridors of the hideout.

She stopped when she heard the shouting.

"-can't believe you're actually letting her stay here! Don't you remember what she's done?"

"That wasn't her fault; you know that. I thought I already explained to you that she's not _that_ Annabeth. Besides, she's lost her memories. She's not going to be a problem."

"When have you _ever _known a child of Athena to 'not be a problem'? Of course she is! Whether she's the same Annabeth or not doesn't matter; the fact that she's here is riling up the men. She's a reminder that he's gone. It's _her_ fault that he's dead."

The girl heard the sound of a fist smashing into something hard and an object skittering and falling back. "Nakamura, don't you _dare _mention him. It's been taken care of."

"You took care of the boy." Ethan's voice spoke darkly. "And yet you can't seem to get rid of the girl. Is it a sentimental bond, Perseus? Or are you just too week to finish the job?"

"_I_ am in charge here." a voice that sounded painfully like Percy's argued back. He was putting on a commanding voice, but Annabeth could still hear the slight quivering hidden behind.

"You're only in charge because you're daddy's the only powerful Titan left. _He's_ in charge of this base, not you, and I bet he wishes he had a son that wasn't so stuck on sentimentality."

Footsteps neared the doorway, and Annabeth pressed herself harder against the corner of the wall, trying not to be seen. The steps stopped short at the door.

"No matter how hard you try, Perseus, you'll never be as good as Luke."

Ethan retreated down the hall in the opposite direction as Annabeth, still fuming from his argument with his superior. The gray eyed girl positioned herself in the middle of the hallway just as the one-eyed son of Oceanus exited his office. He stopped short when he saw her.

"Annabeth."

"Sir, was that Commander Ethan?"

"Oh, um. Yah. You don't have to call me 'sir'." The raven-haired boy seemed even more surprised by his own words than she was.

"But Mia and Cora call you 'sir'."

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out, changing the subject.

"I was on my way down to my room." She paused, wondering if she should say anything. "Actually, I did have a question for you."

He stood before her, waiting.

"Mia mentioned someone earlier - Luke, I think it was - but neither she nor Cora would tell me who he was. Cora said that maybe you could tell-" the blonde looked up to see the demititan tensing up, a stoic expression painted across his features. "... me."

"Mia mentioned Luke?" he asked stiffly.

"I don't think she intended to," the blonde rushed, "but,... Who was he?"

Perseus ran a hand through his hair, sighing. His body relaxed and he seemed to emit a sad kind of air about him. Suddenly he wasn't the fierce, commanding leader. He was the fragile teenage boy he kept locked away inside. "Luke... He was an old friend."

"What happened to him?"

"He realized he wasn't where he wanted to be. It sealed his death. All because of a son of Hades and a daughter of Athena."

A cold air settled over them, and Annabeth hesitated.

"What did you do about it?"

"I killed the boy."

A shock ran through the demigod. Nico was dead; that would hit Percy hard when he found out. She swallowed. "And the girl?"

The boy eyed her, a brutish fire playing behind his single visible orb.

"I'm working on it right now."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, Minions, Chapter Eight is here! ;D**

**Hibernia12 - Thank you so much; I'm so glad you love it.** :**) And yes, Annabeth is in deep trouble, but for reasons you do not yet know...**

**Guest (There were two of you. It might help to give yourself a title.) - I'm happy that you love it! :D And I Update once a day, so don't worry about that.**

**henrie locker - You're absolutely right: no one messes with Percy's Wise Girl. And yes, Perseus is mean. You'll understand that more later. Annabeth, of course, can't kill him because he looks almost exactly like Percy, and that would be just too painful.**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Well, people don't usually like the characters that aren't in the** **Books, so I usually try not to use them. But these two are kind of necessary, sooooo...**

**Guest - Thank you! :) You know what the most Awesome thing here is, though? : You guys. My Minions mean everything to me. ;)**

**Elarria - Yeah, it gets even more complex as we go along. *Sigh* All of my characters are war-torn emotional wrecks. You just get used to it in the end. (Don't worry, it's really not that depressing. I like happy endings. :D)**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - Mwahahahahahaha... My evil plan is coming together! You are becoming attached to evil Perseus! MWAHAHAHAHA... And sorry about Nico and Thalia; I love them too, but I had to do what was best for the plot. Even if that means destroying some of my favorite characters ever. :(**

**Thank you so much to Lock on Lockon, to Daughters of Fate, to henrie locker, and to Elarria for Following and/or Favoriting my story.**

**Again, to all who have yet to review, I look forward to hearing from you. ;D**

**Disclaimer: Sorry everybody, not yet. (We should take him out in court for abusing his characters in Tartarus. Then we could have a collective ownership together! :D)**

**Dedication: To henrie locker for her genuine curiosity and for asking all the right questions.**

Chapter Eight

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

"-no way." "Absolutely not-" "-a demigod! Hah, sure. Son of Poseidon my a-" "had to appear in _our_ world. Why couldn't he-" "-need _our_ help?" "Why-" "-not fair-" "-Nico's dead and now this-" "-say we kill him now, before-"

A high, piercing note resounded throughout the dinning hall, and over a hundred demigods clasped their hands to their ears as conversation suddenly died. All eyes glanced up at the head table just as they had the night before. Grover lowered his reed pipes from his lips. The satyr shot a look over towards Annabeth as the blonde nodded in appreciation, straitening her back as the room's attention rested on her. The daughter of Athena cleared her throat and began.

"Last night all of you learned about a certain 'guest' who's staying with us at the moment. Now, there are some things I know we didn't have the opportunity to discuss last night, but-"

"Yah, like the fact that a Titan-scumbag is kick'n back in our base."

A mix of snickers and angry grumbles rose and fell throughout the room. Annabeth's fingernails dug into the wood of the table.

"I know you're all upset. I know that many of us are still vulnerable from the recent death of our hero, and I know that an unwanted conflict has just been forced on you. But this problem can and must be resolved if we're expected to get anywhere in this war."

A loud bang sounded as a fist hit the surface of a wooden table towards the back of the room.

"The war," Octavian sneered. "She wants to talk about the _war_." The pale, scrawny augur turned to his commanding officer. "There is no 'anywhere' to get, or we would have reached it by now, oh Mighty Commander Chase. Maybe we don't _want_ to fight this war. You're the brilliant daughter of Athena who brought us this 'guest'. _You_ do something about him. We don't want any part in your war."

Arguments broke out across the floor. Jason jolted to his feet. "By Pluto, Octavian, it's not just her war! Do you _want_ the Titans to win?!"

"I thought you hated this so-called 'Son of Poseidon', Grace." yelled the straw-haired scarecrow. "I hadn't pined you as one who forgave his enemies so easily."

Hears followed the comment and frustrated voices rose. Another shrill note pierced the air. Annabeth looked over at Grover again, but he looked down quickly, not meeting her eyes. The half-blood commander sucked in a breath. It seemed even Grover agreed with the crowd.

"Octavian's right," Will's voice rose above the silence - although the words seemed audibly bitter on his tongue. "How do we know that anything said last night by this guy was even true? I haven't always been one for violence, but something has got to be done. He'll only cause us trouble."

"The gods will curse is!" came a shout from the mob.

"Shut up!" Clarisse yelled from the back. Everyone turned to stare at her, frozen on the spot. "Stop whinin' ya' sissies," she glowered, "I want to hear this stupid speech. I've got training to do and I haven't got all day."

The child of wisdom breathed out and loosened her iron grip on the table. "I recognize that it's been more difficult than usual with Nico gone. You're upset, but I've felt the effects, too." The blonde stared around the room, her look one of steel. "Frankly, I'm not sure that I trust him, either."

Whispers encompassed the dining hall, but this time nobody raised his voice.

"The gods would've sent us a sign by now if he'd come from them, so that's obviously not how this happened. That leaves us two options: To either believe that Percy is telling the truth, or to accept that he's been sent by the enemy."

"What do you expect us to do?" Katie Gardener spoke up, her voice wavering in her throat.

"We do what he's asking of us," Annabeth answered in the most confident voice she could muster. "We help him."

The hall erupted again, infuriated shouts and confused cries echoing throughout the space. Annabeth glanced over towards Grover, but the satyr was too busy nibbling frantically on the edge of the table to notice. The gray eyed girl grit her teeth.

"I said _Shut Up!_" Clarisse yelled again. "_I want to hear the stupid game plan!_"

Immediate silence fell. Demigods dropped into their seats, weapons clattered to the floor, and the Stoll brothers - who had been in the process if giving Ocravian an atomic wedgie - dropped the augur and left him to crumple to the floor. The daughter of Ares folded her arms over her chest and kicked her legs up, giving Annabeth a look that said "Wow me or die."

"Look, the demigod leader ordered, her voice turning cold and hard, "You don't like my strategy, then you can leave now, but outside of this base are two things: the gods and the Titans. Both have made it quite clear that they don't plan on helping us anytime soon. Right now this is a fight for survival - one that I plan to win - but we can't possibly hope to succeed unless we at least level the playing field. This ridiculous war has lasted far too long, and now we're at a crossroads. One path will lead us out of this mess, and the other one will bring us to a dead end - literally. Whether Percy is a friend or foe, as long as he's here, we have an advantage. There's one thing he said that I know is without a doubt the truth: He's looking for someone from his world. I don't know if he intends to help her or to harm her, but either way he'll be leading us directly to Perseus, and he doesn't appear in the mood to help our enemy in the near future. We'll watch him while he's here. We'll study his intent - his motive - and them we'll make our decision. We'll strike, with or against him. Is that clear?"

Heads nodded reluctantly and mumbles of consent were exchanged. Annabeth felt the tiniest bit of relief. The war had left her and all of the others scatter-brained, and it was good to have them all working together after so long. (Well, most of them, anyway. Octavian and his cronies were still glaring at her from the back.)

"Now," the child if wisdom declared, "Who wants to give him the tour?"

Third Person

Percy's POV

It had been a good half-hour since Annabeth had sat Percy down in his room and told him (very forcefully) to 'stay'. It had been within less than ten minutes of that half-hour that Percy's ADHD had kicked in, and before he was even twenty minutes in, the raven haired demigod found himself boredly wandering the halls.

In hindsight, Percy decided, it might've been wise to leave Annabeth a note so she didn't assume he'd gone galavanting off to find Perseus and share all of her dirty-rotten secrets with him. Of course, it was too late now. The son of Poseidon supposed he also should've thought about the possibility of getting lost...

So, instead the half-blood made his way toward what he thought must be the dining area. At least _that_ wasn't very hard; he just followed the loud sound of arguing.

It was at that moment - just as Percy settled himself again the wall - that the doors opposite him were thrown open by an infuriated, very territorial-looking blonde. She stopped when she saw the boy standing in front of her.

"Percy," Annabeth spoke, blinking at him. "When did you get here?" Then she narrowed her eyes. "How much have you heard?" The green eyed boy sighed, not all that surprised by the lack of trust. "Nothing, actually. I just got here."

"Don't listen to him! He's a spy!" A pale, scrawny fist was waved in the air towards the back of the room behind Annabeth. Somebody else stood up as well. "Ah, can it Octavian!" Another argument broke out within the large room. Percy's view was blocked by Annabeth closing the doors, but not before he caught a glimpse of one of the Stoll brothers flinging food. The daughter of Athena turned and pushed the teenager back against the tunnel's dirt wall.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Percy frowned, "Are you _kidding_ me? What do you mean, 'what do I think I'm doing'? I don't know about your world, but in my world most demigods have ADHD. You can't have really expected me to sit there for almost half-an-hour."

The girl folded her arms. "Look here Mister High-and-Mighty, you stay in _my _base, you play by _my _rules. Got it? Over half of those people in there are just about ready to commit mutiny and go on a man-hunt to stab you through the heart. If you want to keep on giving them reasons to do it, be my guest. I won't protect you forever."

"What is your problem?" the sea child asked her. The second the words came out Percy wanted to slap his hand over his mouth. He hadn't seen Annabeth act this way since he was twelve. In fact, _he_ hadn't acted this way since he was twelve. The son of Poseidon was reacting on impulse, and that was _not_ a road you wanted to go down when you were fighting with an angry daughter of Athena.

"What is _my_ problem?" she demanded. "My problem is that some random boy who looks almost exactly like my mortal enemy has appeared in my base and is destroying the peace. My problem is that the unity of my men is falling apart. My problem is that this stupid war is not getting better and that _we're losing!_"

Both of them fell silent.

"I'll just - Just stay here, ok? I'll go get some people."

Annabeth paused and looked over at the doors, straitened her back, and disappeared. Minutes later she stepped back out with two people at her sides.

"These are-"

"Piper McLean and Grover Underwood. Yeah, I know."

The two just stared at him, and Percy stared right back. Grover had what looked like some Guacamole stuck in his curls and some pasta noodles hanging off of one of his horns. Piper was lucky enough to have seemingly evaded the food-flinging almost entirely with only a minimal splattering of spaghetti sauce to show for it. Other than that, both figures appeared almost exactly the same as they would in his world. They would, anyway, if you didn't peer too closely. Percy was unsettled to notice that Grover's shoulders were a bit slumped - as if he was trying somehow hide within himself - and that Piper's eyes seemed duller and less confident than before. The thought made him angry. His friends shouldn't have to deal with this, especially not someone like Grover.

"So, umm," Percy's attention was directed towards Piper. The daughter of Aphrodite was self-consciously gnawing on her lower-lip. "You're really from a different world?"

Grover was sniffing the air. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, eyes large and vigilant. "He doesn't smell any different than Perseus."

Percy normally might've cracked a joke at something like that, but the green eyed boy stayed wordless as the awkward silence hung around them.

A loud crash could be heard from the large room next to them. Grover jumped. Annabeth walked up behind Piper and put a hand on her shoulder; Percy could hear her terse whisper: "Just talk to him. I'll be right back." The blonde disappeared once again into the dining hall. Piper turned her gave toward him, watching the sea child with a now familiar sort of wariness.

"So, ah, are the gods silent in your world, too?"

The older demigod ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. The somber question was a testament to the base's environment. He didn't really know how much he should tell her, but Annabeth _had_ told Piper to keep him busy, and he didn't want to make her feel bad...

"Not exactly." the teen explained, "They, well ... They don't come around very often, but they're there."

"You- So you've met them?"

"Yah, um," Percy squinted his eyes, trying to think of examples. "I've met the council, Hestia, Pan, Hec-"

"Pan!"

Just then Annabeth walked back out of the room, almost bumping into a now nearly-hyperventilating Grover. She turned to Percy, "What did you do to him?!"

The raven haired teenager wanted to put his fist through a brick wall. By the gods, what was wrong with him today?

"Clarisse!"

The daughter of Ares marched out of the battle-field of food looking terse and irritable. Her left side was splattered with what looked like some kind of gravy and she had cheese strands tangled in her matted hair.

"What is it this time, Princess? Did you lose your pet dog of something?" She looked down at Percy (even though he was just about the same height as her) and something told him that he was supposed to be the dog.

Then she saw Grover.

"Oh,"

The beefy girl grabbed a hold of his arm.

"No, wait! Wait!" This satyr scrambled in Percy's direction. "What do you mean? Where did you- No, Clarisse, wait wait wait! Just a sec-" The half-blood girl pulled his best friend's counterpart back into the other room.

"Why do you always seem to have to make this so difficult?" Suddenly Annabeth was in his face, her own contorted with anger.

"I didn't mea-"

"It doesn't _matter _what you meant!" the angry blonde cut him off. "It doesn't even have to be true! What matters is that Grover _thinks_ that it's true and that it's important to him."

Percy looked down as a tense silence fell over them.

"Just, Just don't say anything about your world. It's not worth the risk, for me or for you."

Annabeth gripped her hands into fists, and Percy noticed that they were shaking slightly. He wondered if she had some questions she'd like to ask him, too, but that maybe she was too afraid of the answer.

The daughter of Athena stepped back from him. "Piper will show you around."

The son of Poseidon looked up to see the child of wisdom with her arms folded over her chest, gripping them tightly. She was looking away. He knew why, too. Percy's gaze shifted to the child of Aphrodite who was trying to shrink into the wall behind her. She didn't look like much at the moment (which left another weight on the demigod's chest), but Piper was a Charmspeaker. He knew why Annabeth had given her the job of tour guide.

"Alright." Both girls looked at him in surprise. "Let's go." he told the Cherokee girl. His eyes then met Annabeth's and they shared a look. He knew they would be talking about this later.

***Line Break***

"I'm sorry about Annabeth," Piper spoke, a little less intimidated, now. "She's been tense lately. For various reasons."

"She and Perseus," Percy intoned hesitantly. "How do they know each other?"

The daughter of Aphrodite stopped. "Look, I don't know exactly how much you've been told, but that's not really my story to share. Annabeth will tell you if she's ready."

Percy sped up his walk in an effort to match the younger girl's pace. "Hey, wait," He put his hand on her shoulder and the brown haired demigod stiffened up. The boy quickly pulled back. "I'm sorry," he breathed out. "I shouldn't be asking questions like that. It's not my place. Things are just ... different here."

A pair of kaleidoscope eyes watched him for a moment. "You don't seem so bad," Piper murmured. "Maybe that's why Annabeth hates you so much."

"What?"

"It's nothing, come on." The child of the love goddess led Percy through the next hall, heading toward the forgery.

"Now technically Octavian doesn't want you down here, but he's not in charge, thank Zeus. The rest said it was fine, since you don't already have a weapon."

Percy's fingers flickered to his pocket, fingering his pen. They didn't know about Riptide. Did the Perseus of this world even have Anaklusmos?

"And you can always Charmspeak me if I try to steal one." he commented dryly. Piper flinched. "That was their thought." Then her eyes widened.

"How did you know?!"

The half-blood breathed out. He'd opened up his big, impulsive mouth again - just as if he was twelve.

"Just a hunch."

The demigod girl let it slide and moved on, showing him the equipment. They walked a little further down the hall and Percy bit his lip. He couldn't keep from asking.

"So, how's Jason?"

The sixteen year old wrung her fingers together. "You say that like it's supposed to mean something."

He looked at her. "Should it?"

"Well," Piper spoke up softly. She gripped her left arm tightly. "No, it shouldn't." The daughter of Aphrodite cleared her throat. "So, ah, what's _your_ Annabeth like?"

Percy almost stopped. He looked in the opposite direction so he wouldn't have to face Piper. On the right stood two large, formidable doors. He felt suddenly drawn to them.

"No!" Piper caught his arm and pulled him back, sending him tumbling to the ground. "You aren't allowed to go in there." The charmspeak was now thick in her voice, but it was panicked. Percy was already slipping back to the surface. "Why not?"

"Tell me what your Annabeth is like."

Percy knew she didn't mean it, that it was only a distraction, but that was Piper's mistake. The words didn't come out, but the message still shown on his face, loud and clear. The son of Poseidon was sure that he looked like a lovesick puppy.

"Oh," Piper looked down at him and her eyes grew wide. "_Oh_." The brown haired girl stumbled back hastily and let go as if her hands were burning. "I am so, _so_ sorry." Her expression was one of utter shock and terror. "So _that's_ why you want to find her so badly."

Percy shook free of the spell and tugged at his hair in frustration. "By the gods, I _knew_ this was going to happen."

"You," She choked out a phrase, her voice frightened, with a reminiscence of bitterness. "You asked about Jason before. Are we-"

"Look, I really shouldn't be talking about this," the son of Poseidon rushed on, lowering his voice. "Annabeth was right when she told me that it wouldn't be a good idea."

"Right," Piper choked out, her breaths short and panicked. "Right, um, we should head back now. I should- We should really go."

"No." Percy grabbed her arm. "You know know my secret, it's my turn to learn yours."

***Line Break***

It was around an hour before Percy got back to his room. The green eyed half-blood had spent the time talking with Piper about Jason and how he'd changed.

Piper had been rescued from a particularly vicious pack of hellhounds when a group of Romans had wandered through the area on the way to New York. Their camp had recently been destroyed and they'd gotten wind about the Greeks. The plan had been to seek refuge for a little while before moving on, or, if things got drastic enough, to think about combining forces. Anyway, Piper, oblivious to her godly heritage, had stumbled upon a pack that was actually hunting Jason and his men. After his fellow Praetor (and possible love-interrest) died saving Piper's life, she and the son of Zeus got to know each other a little better. They even considered becoming a little more than friends. That is, until Jason found out about Thalia.

Jason Grace hadn't seen his older sister since he was two. He'd spent over half of his life fruitlessly searching for her in the hope of a real family. When he heard that his older sister had gone down without a fight - poisoned but some _Graecus_ scumbag - well, it was no wonder he hated Percy. Instead of the loving, Greek-like hero Piper had fallen for, Jason had reverted to a cold, vengeful Roman commander, harsh and closed-up to anyone outside. It hadn't worked out between them after that.

Annabeth was waiting at his door for him. As distracted as he was, and as rough as his day had been, Percy resorted to saying the first thing that came out of his mouth:

"You set me up."

The blonde stared at him, raising one eyebrow. Her deep gray eyes pierced strait down to his soul.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't give me that," the half-blood son of Poseidon argued with her. "You know you did. A Charmspeaker? Really? You haven't matured at all since you were twelve, have you?"

She sucked in a breath before quickly putting back up the same, angry mask. "That's none of your business."

Percy stopped. He knew that look; she was hiding something. It hit him, and his stomach sunk.

"Oh, gods, Annabeth. You _did_ know him. You were at camp with him, too weren't you? You pulled that Capture the Flag stunt, too!"

"Stop it!"

The child of wisdom had her fists clenched. She had tears peaking at the corners of her eyes. "You don't know _anything_ about him or about me!"

Now, Percy already knew why Annabeth had sent Piper with him. It just made sense: The daughter of Aphrodite could protect herself and also question him if it came to it. He wouldn't have liked the situation any more than Annabeth did. If, for instance, _Luke_ had walked in on one of his meetings during the Titan War saying he was from an alternate universe and had come to sweep Annabeth off her feet, Percy would've decked him then and there and gutted him for good measure.

Of course, it didn't mean he had to like what Annaberh had done - or that he wasn't angry.

"Well if you can send a Charmspeaker after me to steal all of my deep dark secrets I don't see why I can't know yours."

"You're in my base!" Annabeth screamed at him. "I have certain privileges that you don't! Do you get it or do I have to spell it out for you?!"

"We're both dyslexic." he reminded her.

"Aaaahg," the girl cried out in desperate annoyance, "Why do you have to be so intolerable?!"

Percy just stared at her, unsure of how to react. It really was like seeing the twelve-year-old all over again. He and the Annabeth he knew had matured so much since then that he just wasn't used to dealing with this, especially when the twelve-year-old-ish Annabeth happened to be a war-warn, probably emotionally-traumatized demigod leader.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. Her voice was a little hoarse from all of the yelling, but Percy could still hear the guarded tone within. "I'm trying to decide if you're really for real right now of if this is you trying to protect yourself."

Annabeth clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes at him, as if she could _not_ believe that he actually just went there. Then her voice got very quiet and very, very frightening.

"You really want to know why I'm like this?" she asked, looking him strait in the eyes. "It's because Perseus ruined my life, and because I wish to all the gods that I had never ever laid eyes upon him."

Annabeth turned around quickly and stormed off, but not before Percy caught the misted look of pain in her eyes. He could only wonder if she was actually running more than anything. The son of Poseidon could only stare at the end of the hallway where she'd disappeared, alone with his thoughts and his haunting misery.

**Dun Dun Dun Duuuuuuuun. Poor Percy and Annabeth. *Sigh* Will things never get better!? Oh, wait, I already know the answer. Mwahahahaha. ... Sorry, sometimes I can't help but let out my evil.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, um, if you guys couldn't tell, yesterday's chapter was a bit longer than you might have expected. In turn, this one will probably be a little bit shorter.**

**OK, _much _shorter.**

**FourthWallBreaker - I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make it _that_ sad. And with the emotions: Annabeth is kind of incapable of maturing past twelve because twelve was like her shield - her safety net. It was the last time she was truly happy.**

**henrie locker - That might make it a little trick to send him back to his world. ;) Thanks so much for telling me your idea, but as far as the romance plays out, I think I've got it all figured out.**

**Hibernia12 - YES! Now my story is epic! You bring me happiness through your generous flattery. And your favorite phrase is indeed accurate in this desperate situation. Carry on, Minion! ;D**

**cecld16 - I'm so, _so_ glad that you loved it so much. Updates come once a day, so kick back and enjoy the show. :D**

**Percabeth24 - Thank you! :) I can't wait either; I just loving hearing what you guys think about it. :D**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - I'm so glad we're friends. :) Your review was so nice and sweet! Thank you! And yes, I love that part too: "We're both dyslexic." :D**

**Thanks to cecld16, to jajaaah, to Samthevariablex, and to PliPla for Following and/or Favoriting me and/or my story. :D**

**You guys know the drill: Reviews bring happiness and inspiration. I'd love to hear all of you'd opinions and i don't want to leave anyone out. :D Please review.**

**Enjoy! ;)**

**Disclaimer: Wait for me to finish making my mind control serum. _Then_ we'll see if Rick really has ownership or not. ;D**

**Dedication: To Hibernia12 who thinks that my story is "epic".**

Chapter Nine

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

As his Karmic punishment for arguing with Perseus, Ethan Nakamura was assigned the task of showing Annabeth around the Titan Base. Of course, as soon as his commander's back was turned, the son of Nemesis decided he had more important things to do and handed her off to a lesser officer.

It was obvious from his expression that Alabaster Torrington didn't think much of Annabeth. It wasn't that the son of Hecate doubted her abilities, but the daughter of Athena could see his complete lack of respect for her. (In all truth, Annabeth would've thought the exact same of him - his clothes were covered in glowing green scribbles, and he looked like a boy trying to walk in a grown man's shoes - but he was a son of Hecate, and the child of wisdom knew that Hecate was _not _a goddess to be messed with. ... On the other hand, neither was Athena.) In the end, though, it didn't really matter. Annabeth would've gladly dealt with a hundred Alabaster Torringtons if it meant giving her the chance to see the architecture.

In the past few days of her stay, Annabeth hadn't had the chance to really get a good look at her surroundings. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to, but the daughter of Athena had been fairly busy with sorting through her thoughts and examining the best way to blend in.

Now that she was actually getting a good look at things, what she saw amazed her. The gray eyed girl might've even enjoyed it if she wasn't conscious of the fact that she was in an enemy base, sitting on the doorstep of an evil Titan Lord.

The place where Annabeth had been staying for the past few days, she discovered, was a very large complex made completely of pure black marble.

No, black wasn't quite the right word. It was more like,... Lightless. A solidified expanse of pure darkness. It was a chilling reminder for the blonde of Mount Othrys, but Annabeth knew that it couldn't be that. This structure was shaped differently. The compound's format was very defined and took the child of wisdom an almost inconsequential amount of time to map out. She knew she probably wouldn't sleep well after uncovering it, either. Shaped like Lord Kronos' scythe, the substantially large structure stretched out for all the world to see. Of course, the part of the building that represented the scythe's blade was supposedly "off limits" for Annabeth, as Alabaster so kindly informed her. She didn't have to ask why and probably wouldn't have anyway. The blonde could understand not wanting your enemy in your weapon rooms. That, and Oceanus' quarters were down that way, and Annabeth didn't fancy meeting him any more than he likely did her.

The son of Hecate gave her a pointed look at this - the kind that Percy would've responded to with a sheepish smile. She just stared back in return, meeting the boy's gaze. The day before, when Annabeth had wandered into the hallway with Perseus' office trying to find her way to her bedroom, the daughter of Athena had stepped across that "off limits" zone. How Alabaster knew, she wasn't sure, but the demigod wouldn't have been surprised if they had cameras watching her. Demigods weren't supposed to use technology, but when you were working with monsters instead of running from they, Annabeth guessed that the rules changed.

The child of wisdom followed close behind as Alabaster led her through a crowd of half-bloods and monsters. She bumped shoulders with a dracaena who hissed at her in response. The gray eyed girl had found over the last few days that no one exactly appreciated Perseus' decision to invite her into the base. It seemed like everywhere she went there was something unflattering said about his commanding strategy. Annabeth wasn't sure how she felt about that. Part of the blonde's heart ached for him as her boyfriend's counterpart, but the sensible part in her brain told her heart to snap out of it. _Her_ Percy wasn't the one who had permanently screwed up his life. This boy would just have to deal with things as they were.

Black marble walls gave out into open space as Alabaster led his charge out of the compound and into an open-air pavilion. More dark pillars encircled what was the very end of the scythe's staff, but they were more separated now, each a a couple of feet away from the others. On either end of the pavilion stretched a sea of tents - monsters on one side, half-bloods on the other. They glanced up as she walked by, their expressions those of bitter, war-torn beings.

But Annabeth was no longer looking at the black marble pavilion or the people outside if it. The daughter of Athena froze when she saw what was past the maze of tents. She would have known that landscape anywhere. The gray eyed demigod's hope deflated as she saw the setting before her.

Now she knew where she was.

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus' complaint box was officially full to bursting. The demititan commander hadn't even _had_ a complaint box prior to the Annabeth-incident, but now that he did have one it was apparent that not many people were happy with him.

_At All_.

The son of Oceanus wondered what the heck he thought he was doing. Head in his hands, the one-eyed half-blood sighed. He had invited an enemy demigod into his base. He had let her roam free. Tartarus, he had even defended her in front of Ethan!

There was a sweet sense of freedom, Perseus realized, in consciously making a decision that no one else agreed with. But it sure as Kronos wasn't making him any more popular. None of the monsters had complained yet, but it was only a matter of time. The mythological ranks knew that Oceanus, above all, was in charge, and if they rose up against his son the Titan might retaliate by declaring his alliance and turning on them. Perseus knew that his father would never do something like that. The sea Titan had never been one for compassion, especially not towards his son. Of course, the monsters didn't know that, so, for the time being at least, he was safe.

No, the black haired teen's real problem was Ethan. Ever since the death of Luke - and therefore of Kronos - Ethan Nakamura had seemed determined to create an uprising. He stirred up the men against Perseus' orders and put doubt in their minds that the commander was truly qualified. The boy hadn't gone to his father about it; he knew what the Titan would say:

'Fix the problem or suffer the consequences.'

Ethan was the real reason that Perseus now had an overflowing complaint box sitting in the middle of his office desk.

Maybe he should start listening more to his father. Fix the problem or face the consequences.

Now he just had to decide what the problem was: Ethan or the girl.

**For those of you who didn't know: Alabaster Torrington is an actual PJO character from one of the short books - Demigod Diaries. He's a son of Hecate who fought on Kronos' side and who still thinks that the gods are evil and that Percy's probably the most horrible, deceptive person out there. He's obviously mistaken. I wanted to add him in to see if any if you had ever heard of him before. :D**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts! ;D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome back, everybody! ;D Well, the good news is that no one complained yesterday about a shorter chapter. And the bad news...**

**I have no bad news. You guys are awesome. Enjoy! :D**

**Hibernia12 - Thank you! ;) I'm glad you do.**

**Percabeth24 - I know; I like Alabaster, too. I'm glad that I could surprise you. ;D As the author, I'm not sure which chapters I like best. Probably the later ones that I'm still in the process of finishing. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself; read on! :)**

**Athena'sPride95 - You are incredible; your review just totally made my day. Wow. I thank you so much for your flattery and for the depth of your statement. Writing means a lot to me, and the fact that someone thinks I'm doing it so well just blows me away. I hope that I really don't disappoint you. You seem like a fantastic person and I hope that you continue to enjoy my story. ;D**

**Guest2.0 - Thank you so very much! :D I hope that I can live up to your expectations. ;)**

**ChocolateWriter - Bingo. Someone give this minion a stuffed unicorn. You win the prize for correctly answering the unasked question of the day. Congratulations. ;D I'm also glad that you liked Alabaster. I thought it would be fun to add him in.**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - No no no no no no no. The mind control serum is to use on Rick Riordan, and I haven't finished it yet. With you guys I don't need a serum because you're so mesmerized with my story that you'll do anything I say. ... I really do have to stop saying these kind of things out loud.**

**cecld16 - I'm glad that you love it. I hope that you enjoy! ;D**

**Thank you to Athena'sPride95, to**

**Hamers, to ProngsletPotter, to fokker333, and to Lilith Jae for Following and/or Favoriting this story.**

**To all who didn't review, I hope you know by now that I would really love to hear from you. Send me a message of what you think. :)**

**Disclaimer: Sorry, I still haven't finished that mind control serum. I will, don't worry! Then he'll be _compelled_ to give the rights to me. Mwahahahahahahaha...**

**Dedication: This one has to go to Athena'sPride95. I hope someday to deserve the flattery he/she's given me. Enjoy the story, Minions. :)**

Chapter Ten

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

After a week of adjustment, the demigods were starting to get used to Percy being there, but it didn't mean that they liked it.

"Did you have to bring him with you?" Malcolm grumbled at his younger sister. They were standing at the front of the base's tactics room - one of the few more advanced areas of their HeadQuarters. The concrete walls were covered in TV Screens and Readings and Maps. An adjoining room off to the side held more maps and plans stored on an endless maze of shelves.

"You know that I had to." Annabeth replied, rolling her eyes. "He's not so bad."

"He's a son of Poseidon." the blond boy complained, "That's almost as bad as a demititan."

"Stop whining, Malcolm." the girl chastised. She could understand where her brother was coming from, but children of Athena weren't usually so quick to gossip. They weren't supposed to complain. "Where's your sense of self-decency?"

"At least I still have my sense of pride." her brother mumbled.

"Stop that!" she snapped, her voice now a heated whisper. Annabeth didn't know why she felt the need to defend the boy, but her nerves were beginning to boil. "Besides, the whole reason we're in here right now is because of Percy."

The two of them looked over toward the son of Poseidon as he surveyed the area. Annabeth felt suddenly uncomfortable at his vigilant gaze. She had an uneasy feeling building in her gut, almost as if the boy was examining _her_ and not the room.

"The sooner we get this done," she whispered, "the sooner he leaves."

"Then why didn't we start this earlier in the week?" Malcolm spoke accusingly under his breath.

"Because you wouldn't _help_ me any earlier this past week. For the gods' sakes, Malcolm, he's not going to infect you!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if we could get started."

Both children of Athena jumped and turned to see Percy standing behind them. He had an air of calm confidence about him, but Annabeth could see the hurt behind his eyes. She felt an instant, stabbing pain of guilt, quickly pushing it down at the preposterousness of the idea. If he'd heard it wouldn't hurt anything. He'd be leaving soon anyway, along with his stupid, unbearable personality and his incompetent heritage.

Malcolm just blinked at the boy like he was from another planet before turning once again to his sister.

The gray eyed teen let out a breath. "Right. Malcolm, would you go get the maps?"

Her brother looked hesitant for a moment, but he left anyway. He knew better than to disobey a direct order.

Silence reigned the moment the boy left; Percy awkwardly cleared his throat. "You know, you don't have to help me if you really- ... if you really hate me that much. I could always do this on my own."

Annabeth felt a horrible clenching in her gut as she heard the words. The son of Poseidon seemed genuinely heart-broken. Whatever his relationship with the Annabeth of his world was, she obviously couldn't hate him. Here the boy was, asking her to help save her own counterpart, and it looked like she didn't even _want_ to. _Annabeth_ wasn't really even sure if she wanted to, and obviously Percy was picking up on that. In all truth, the daughter of Athena was discovering that she didn't really mind having Percy around at all; she might've even been warming up to him - just ever so slightly. Her pride wouldn't let her say it in front of the others, but, in reality, she was a little bit flattered. He was trying to save _her,_ after all - or, at least, another version of her.

"Oh, Percy, it's not that. It's just-"

"I've found them." Malcolm spoke, walking back into the room. Annabeth blinked at him before spotting the multiple rolls of paper in his arms.

"Oh, right. The maps."

Malcolm stared at her, looking a bit confused. "Annabeth, are you all right? Is something wrong? I could always-"

"No, Malcolm," she cut him off, "I'm fine; nothing's wrong."

In all true respects, _everything _was wrong, but she wasn't about to admit it to her brother, and she _definitely_ wouldn't say it in front of Percy. The blonde internally chastised herself. Now was not the time to bask in her own personal problems.

"Come on." she spoke, grabbing onto Percy's arm. She could sense them both stiffening at the touch. "There's something that I have to show you."

The girl led him over to a table and pulled out a chair for him. The boy looked at her questioningly.

"You-" Annabeth swallowed hard as she thought about what she was about to show him. "You might want to sit down."

The green eyed teen hesitantly slid into the seat. The daughter of Athena turned to face the wall before her, pulling out a remote. A large screen emerged from the smooth surface, and the live feed began to play. The gray eyed girl looked back to see Percy gripping the edge of the table, knuckles turning white. "What- What are you showing me? Why am I watching this?"

"I think you know what this is." Annabeth spoke, swallowing down her emotions, her expression one of steel.

"It's New York." Percy breathed out, the pain clear in his voice. He looked up at her. "But why-"

"Look at what's going on, Percy," she told him, "_Listen_."

The black haired demigod stared back at the screen before taking a quick intake of breath. "The mortals. Have they been asleep this whole time?"

The child of wisdom's head snapped back in his direction. Her eyes narrowed. "How did you know that they were asleep?"

"I'm not clueless." the boy stood, but kept his eyes on the feed. He didn't look insulted or angered, just sorrowful. "I know the signs; I've seen this before. The same thing happened in my world before we stopped it. But the city wasn't-" he broke off, unable to finish. His voice was full of despair - remorse for the city he loved.

"Destroyed." Annabeth answered for him, her voice a venomous bite of malice. "It's decimated; rubble; ruins; fallen; cracked; broken-"

"I get it." Percy snapped back. Annabeth stopped, realizing how patronizing she'd sounded. She saw the immediate guilt flash in the demigod's eyes, but she also noticed the pain. The boy in front of her wasn't Perseus; he really loved this city, more than she had thought or now knew. The raven haired teen stared down at the table in front of him and whispered a single pain-filled phrase.

"I know what it means: New York is dead."

Third Person

Percy's POV

Percy sat in the empty dinning hall thinking over what Annabeth had shown him earlier. They hadn't accomplished much after his little break down; Annabeth had suggested they take a break for lunch, and he'd gladly obliged. The black haired demigod knew she hadn't meant to seem patronizing - at least, he hoped she hadn't. If this Annabeth was anything like his Wise Girl, she kept most things bottled up to strangers, and, unfortunately, that now applied to him. It also meant that anything she did or said to him would most likely be on the defensive. It might take a while, but the son of Poseidon knew it would eventually eat her from the inside out.

Percy paced down the hallway in front of the tactics room. He reached for the door handle, but hesitated. Things had been going wrong in this world for a long time, and these people seemed to be barely holding on. He wished more than anything that he could say that he knew them, but, in all truth, he really didn't. The green-eyed teen felt guilt swell up in him. These people weren't his friends; they were traumatized castaways playing the parts of soldiers in a war they couldn't possibly win, and him being there had only pushed them over the edge. This reality had already reached its limit.

The child of Poseidon retracted his hand. Maybe he should leave. It might be better for all of them if he did. The demigods wouldn't have his presence hanging over them anymore, and he wouldn't have to deal with the pain of being near this world's Annabeth. Percy was a bad reminder to all of them, and it would be better if he just searched on his own.

The boy stepped back, watching the door wearily. He retraced his steps, glancing back once before turning the corner.

Halfway down the next hallway, Percy realized he didn't really know his way around. He was in a building with no windows and with intricate, maze-like hallways. He didn't even know the way out. The half-blood already knew that the hideout was underground, which meant that Percy would have to go up if he wanted to get out, but it was likely that the demigods had extensive security measured, which meant that just finding an exit would be difficult. Annabeth had always been good at planning things like that.

Annabeth. Just her name sent a pang through his chest, but Percy didn't try to push the feeling back down. He was tired of hiding himself around these people. If they weren't his friends, so what? He didn't have moral support, so he would have to channel the feelings he was having into the energy he needed to find his girlfriend. He couldn't allow the situation to overwhelm him.

The son of Poseidon stopped in front of a large set of double doors, and was startled to recognize them as the area that Piper had specifically forbidden him from entering. The green eyed demigod placed his hand over the metal and felt a surge rush through him. He took a breath. It was as good a place to start as any.

What he found was not what he had expected. But at least now he knew what Piper had meant.

The door opened up into an enormous cavern stretching to heights and lengths Percy couldn't even see. And, within the dark chamber was an endless chasm of...

"Water."

The word left his mouth in a gasp. There was an endless reservoir of water here this whole time, and he hadn't even noticed. That must've been what he'd felt when he first woke up in that cell. The element had been calling him so strongly that he'd felt helpless just being too far away from it. He assumed that the demigods had designed the compound that way on purpose: keeping the cells as far away from the water as possible.

He took a step forward and stood atop the infinite surface of deep blue. Percy's steps carried him further into the darkness. He reached his hand into his pocket and withdrew his pen...

***Line Break***

Percy was certain it must've been hours before Annabeth found him. The daughter of Athena opened the doors to find the sea's son immersed in a furious battle with a figure made out of water. He had been intently focused on improving his concentration while still attempting to practice his battle techniques. It wasn't easy to hone the two skills at once: he had to both move the water figure _and_ move his own form, not allowing one to mirror the movements of the other. And then there was the matter of defeating himself.

Well, that and the mini hurricane that had begun to brew around the two.

The demigod stabbed the water figure in the chest. As it collapsed, he realized it had his face. Only a week in another world and he was already subconsciously preparing for a show-down with himself.

He looked over at Annabeth to find her gawking. She blinked and cleared her throat, "Well, I guess I should've looked here first."

Percy nodded at her, gulping down another breath. As he walked towards her he called up the water, swirling it around him. The substance dropped, and the green eyed teen felt a weight drop from his shoulders, replenishing some of his strength. He could still feel the exhaustion creeping on, though, and, as he stepped down next to Annabeth, he swayed, almost collapsing.

"You're insane, you know that?" the gray eyed girl told him as she caught his weight.

"That's the general idea, yah." he joked, but his smile turned into a grimace. Now that he was out of the water, Percy could feel just how sore he actually was. For a second he glanced at the girl beside him, and she felt familiar - like his Annabeth - but it only lasted for that long: a second. She was gone as soon as she had come.

"Malcolm thought you might've been sneaking around spying on people or breaking into our information files, but then he decided you were too 'dim' for that. You're smarter than you look, you know. They just don't realize that." She led him out into the hall, guiding him through the maze of passages. After a time, Percy finally spoke up.

"And you do?"

She seemed caught off guard. "What?"

"Think I'm smarter than I look."

She stared at the floor. "I- I can tell you're deeper than what I see on the surface. But that still didn't stop me from wondering if you'd..."

"If I'd left."

Annabeth didn't respond.

"I thought about it." he told her sincerely. "But I changed my mind."

They stopped in front of the door that led to his temporary room.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," The blonde nodded in response, still not looking up. Percy turned to head in, but the daughter of Athena grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She swallowed. "I'm sorry about... earlier today. I shouldn't have acted that way about the mortals and about New York. It just kind of... It hits home for me, too."

Percy just stared at her. Annabeth's fatal flaw was hubris, and this girl was supposed to hate him. That combination didn't usually generate an apology. The blonde swayed awkwardly. "Maybe I should go." she stuttered out. "I'll leave you alone now." She turned quickly, ready to bolt.

"No, wait!"

The child of wisdom stopped and turned, hesitant.

"Hey, look," Percy rubbed the back of his head, running his had through his hair. "I'm sorry too. I'm not exactly used to this and I'm sure this isn't any easier for you. You don't have to worry about earlier; forget it, it never happened."

And then she smiled at him; for the first time since he'd first seen her in the base, she really smiled. The blonde nodded his way.

Percy ducked his head into his room, grinning, until he realized something.

"Hey, Annabeth!" the boy called out, sticking his head back into the hallway.

She turned again.

"How do you know where to plan an attack? Where is Perseus, anyway?"

"Oh," she spoke, her smile melting into a darkened expression. "That's easy."

Percy waited hesitantly for her response, already realizing that he had crushed the previously happy mood.

"He's at Camp Half-Blood."

**Dun Dun Dun Duuuuuuun. This Is The Eeeeeeeeend.**

**Sorry, am I ruining the moment?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys. You finally get to dig a little deeper into why Perseus is like this. Good luck! ;D**

**ArcherGirl12 - Don't stress, my minion. It comes once a day.**

**cecld16 - Yeah, you've got it about right, but it's more because they lost the Battle of the Labyrinth than anything.**

**Hibernia12 - I'm glad that you love it. :)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Thanks! ;D The water thing was fun to do. And yeah, I agree, it's good that they're finally warming up to each other. :)**

**Thank you to squidwardmuffins5523, to megakaeloo57, to SpyBlu101, to cecld16, to khione135, to Another Random Human, and to seaweedbrainlover1117 for Following and/or Favoriting me and/or my story(ies).**

**To all who haven't been reviewing: Please share your thoughts on my story. I'd love to find out what you think. :)**

**Disclaimer: Well, the mind control serum was a bust. .. I know! I'll just get Cora to- Wait, you don't know about that yet. Sorry Minions! Pretend that never happened! ;)**

**Dedication: This one has to go to squidwardmuffins5523. You Followed me, Favorited me, and Favoried just about all of my stories! You amaze me and greatly flatter me all at once! Enjoy the show. :)**

Chapter Eleven

Third Person

Perseus' POV

It had been a week, and Perseus was starting to fear that he had made a big mistake.

On her request, Annabeth had been moved to a tent near the beach. He didn't know why he'd said yes, but he had. She had said it was because she felt constricted and cramped; the thing was, Perseus didn't think that was all. It wasn't the kind of tactical move that the Annabeth he knew would make, either. This girl was doing it for a reason all her own. She had been staring out at the ocean all day. Of course, that wasn't the part that frightened him.

He couldn't stop staring at _her_.

It had only been a week, and Perseus still didn't know what was wrong with him. As he watched Annabeth on the screens, the demititan wasn't even quite sure what he saw. Half the time, it was as if he was looking right through her at something else entirely. And whatever that something else was, it was making him feel funny. The black haired teen was more distracted than he had ever been in his entire life, and for a kid with an extreme case of ADHD, that was saying something.

Even worse was the fact that he was developing a sense of rebellion.

Perseus had always been extremely loyal. His mother had been taken from him at an age too young for him to remember. That had left the green eyed child with his father. And, even if Oceanus was a power-hungry jerk, he was the only true family the boy had left, so he had held on.

But now, his thoughts were different. As if he was thinking for himself for the first time. It had been forever since Perseus had felt like this. A long time ago when he wasn't surrounded by Titans and monsters and stone-faced fathers...

Thoughts swirled through the half-blood's mind; a memory of a twelve-year-old blonde smiling down at him with a spoon full of pudding.

No! He would _not_ think of Camp Half-Blood, or that stupid centaur, or that kind, brilliant,-

Perseus gripped his hand to his head, tugging on his hair in frustration. He didn't care if Annabeth made him feel clear-headed. His father had taught him from the very beginning that gods were deceptive. That even just thinking about them could manipulate your perspective and influence your opinions. That must have been what he was feeling now.

_You have to get rid of her_, a little, foreign voice spoke in his mind.

But the thoughts re-surfaced, and he began to wonder what would've happened if he and Annabeth had been allies.

Oh, yes, Perseus was scared. He was scared that what was happening to him was what had happened to Luke, and Luke was now dead because of it. The green eyed boy had enough mixed-up emotions to deal with; he didn't need to lose control completely.

Although, the son of Oceanus had been fairing pretty well lately. He'd avoided Annabeth like the plague after the Luke conversation, while still managing to keep an eye on her.

Now the only problem was keeping his eye _off_ of her, and having only one made it even more difficult.

Perseus' scar flared under his eyepatch; it started to tingle and itch. _That_ woke the boy up from his gazing. The demigod shook his head and rose, beginning to pace.

"What are you doing?! Thinking of Camp Half-Blood as if it meant something to you. You took that mission to prove yourself and you succeeded. You impressed father and that's it. End of story."

He felt a thousand memories rise up against his denial. Perseus knew that he had indeed not impressed his father like he had hoped. And that Camp Half-Blood did, in fact, mean very much to him. A fact of which he was reminded every time he glanced out a window.

_But Perseus,_ the foreign little voice grew more powerful. _Think of your father. Think of how Poseidon murdered your mother in cold blood. Think of the scar that Athena's deceitful little daughter so generously gave to you._

The voice couldn't be foreign. No, this was common sense. Wasn't it? Perseus knew all of this. Had he ever really believed that Annabeth was his friend?

_She's the enemy. Destroy her. Remember your father. Remember your mother. Remember the scar._

He let out a roaring call of frustration and drew his sword from his sheath, smashing it into the nearest monitor screen.

He heard a sudden creek of hinges and turned to see Mia standing in the doorway, mouth a-gape. She stared in horror at his vicious, animalistic expression, but at this point, he was too far-gone to care.

"What do you want?"

Mia stepped back as he snarled at her, stuttering in shock, "P-Perseus? What- What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong!" the demititan snapped, feeling a strange surge within him, goading him on. It felt foreign, and part of him was desperately trying to fight against it, but he smothered the struggling voice and pushed it down, far, far back into the depths of his mind. "If the gods want to play this way, then we're fighting back."

"What are you talking about?" Mia asked, her shaken concern escalating as she backed herself out into the hallway and up against the wall.

"They sent her." he declared, stepping slowly and threateningly towards the daughter of Prometheus. "They must've. I know godly magic when I see it."

He was lost in the words now, not even fully understanding what he was saying.

"But you wouldn't understand, would you?" he growled hostilely. "You're the daughter of that _peace-lover_. Are you challenging me, Mia? Maybe you should go join Annabeth!"

"She deserves it, you know." a cold voice spoke from his right. Perseus swerved to see Cora standing there, her eyes as hard as iron and as frigid as the Arctic. "The demigod girl is not as oblivious as she pretends to be."

Her eyes almost seemed to glow as she stepped forward, not breaking eye-contact with him even once. It was as if she didn't need to blink. The son of the sea Titan could feel the presence of Mia's shaking form behind him, horrified by his sudden hostility, but even that didn't phase him. The cold, animalistic force was stronger now, and it hungered for revenge - for the loss of his mother; for the loss of his eye. He heard a voice in his head, the words of Ethan Nakamura: "_Maybe if you weren't so busy playing around with your little girlfriends you'd know more about what's going on around here_."

And the little smothered part of him was pushed farther down until it was gone. But what Perseus _didn't_ notice was that the voice itself hadn't been Ethan's.

"Yes," he smiled hungrily, his gaze far away, "It's what she deserves."

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

The blonde stood in the hallway, casually leaning against the corner of the black marble wall which turned off in the direction of the records-and-anylization room.

Well, she sure _hoped_ she looked casual.

Annabeth shifted her position, keeping the hall cameras within her line of sight. She knew they were watching her. She wasn't stupid; the girl was a daughter of Athena, after all. The demigod peered around the corner of the wall to see the guard leaving his post for a short visit to the little boy's room. Annabeth smiled. It appeared that her little "present" to him during dinner had payed off. He may have been a demititan, but he sure as Hades didn't have a bladder of steel.

The child of wisdom crept towards the door, hiding it as a leisurely walk but still softening her steps. With any luck, she could take a peek at their information, find out where Percy was, and take off before anyone knew she was missing. Of course, she would also have the help of her trusty Yankee's cap.

Annabeth paused at the door, hesitating slightly. As much as she wanted to find Percy, there were other matters to be held in account. It wasn't her curiosity, or even her pride - Annabeth had matured far past those things since she'd met Percy, and while the remnants of her fatal flaw were still there, the daughter of Athena was motivated by something else. The blonde stood a little longer - a little too long - her hand clasping and unclasping the handle. She looked down, her eyes squeezing shut. This was all reminding her so painfully of Luke: The connection to the Titans. The evil lurking there; his hatred toward the gods. The underlying sense that something wasn't right. That nothing was right. Annabeth couldn't bear the thought of losing Percy. Would it be any better for her to allow his counterpart to go to condemnation?

Before Annabeth could decide between opening the door or retreating, a body clashed into hers'. Hands clasped around the girl's neck and pushed her roughly against the wall before casting her to the floor. The blonde looked up, gray eyes blinked the spots out of her vision. Perseus stood before her, rage blazing in his eye.

"When I let you into my trust, I expect you to follow my rules, not to go behind my back and try to _steal_ from me."

"Percy-"

The word slipped out before she knew what was happening. Annabeth froze, waiting for the harsh response.

"There it is again," snarled the enemy commander, "'_Percy_'. Well, I'm here to tell you something, demigod: I'm not your 'Percy'."

Three guards appeared and surrounded her, their expressions stoic and their air hostile.

"Take her to her room."

The men lifted her and roughly pushed her forward, heading down the hallway.

"Wait." The guards stopped. They didn't turn, but there was no need to; Annabeth already knew the cold, hard voice. "Take her back to her old room - the one in the compound. We wouldn't want anything outside to ... inconvenience her stay."

After a pause and no protest from Perseus, the men continued dragging her forward. Annabeth could still feel Cora's icy stare on her back and she could sense the smug look of satisfaction written across her face.

**Welcome, Minions, to the realm of frustratingly minimal clarity. You'll understand much more in about two more chapters. Good luck with that. ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Morning Minions! ;D I have a super-hectic week in front of me, so it'll be very hard to find time to update. But foreboding any deathly situations or alien invasions, I should be able to stay true to my word and update. :)**

**Hibernia12 - You'll see. ;) But hey! A story's no fun without a plot twist, right? :D**

**squidwardmuffins5523 - Thank you right back. :) This is all for you guys. _You _are the awesome ones. ;)**

**cecld16 - You flatter me. Thank you. ;)**

**KpopGurl - I am very happy to hear that I gave successfully built my alternate universe. ;) What makes me even more happy is that you love it so much. Updates are once a day if you didn't already know. Please enjoy the chapter! ;D**

**seaweedbrainlover1117 - I feel your pain, but, fortunately for all of us, I have an ending planned. I've always been a major Percabeth fan, but as for what happens to the alternates, you'll have to find out for yourself. It'll all work out in the end. :)**

**ChocolateWriter - Hahahahahahaha. Your review made me smile, but I do feel sorry for you. Sometimes updating even one time a day isn't enough. ;)**

**henrie locker - Yes, she most certainly is in trouble, but that's what Percy's for. Everything will work out in the end. ;)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Yes, yes we will. :)**

**ArcherGirl12 - I thank thee M'lady. Thou hast given unto me a great flattering which this lowly peasant doth not deserve. (Sorry, I'm in my Mediaeval Stage. It comes and goes.) Enjoy, Minion! ;D**

**Thank you to xXAzureFangXx and to Isabel loves books for Following and Favoriting this story. :) And thank you to seaweedbrainlover1117 for Favoriting two of my other works. ;D Enjoy the show!**

**Disclaimer: Well, we don't use cliff hangers... Unfortunately the American Government doesn't use torture methods as a sign of identification, so no one will be mistaking me for Uncle Rick anytime soon... Oh well. ;)**

**Dedication: To Don't touch my Seaweed Brain who is unable to read my story at the moment. I wish her the best of luck in all her endeavors. :D**

Chapter Twelve

Third Person

Percy's POV

The son of Poseidon sat perched atop an eleven-foot-high pile of rubble, surveying the city. It wasn't hard to see far when there were no buildings left standing. The silence was practically suffocating him, and the stillness of the city before him made his heart clench up in his chest. This was supposed to be his home - it was _his_ city. But now everything was ruined, and even though he had always known New York like the back of his hand, in this carnage he wouldn't have stood a chance at navigating it. He didn't even have Sally anymore. In this world his mother was either missing or dead.

"Can I join you?"

The demigod glanced back to see Annabeth and his heart rate sped up before he smothered it again. It was pure cruelty that the Fates had seen fit to place him here with her.

"Percy?" the blonde asked. He blinked up at her, expecting some smart, playful comment, but he only saw her iron hard expression.

"Yah, sure. Go ahead."

She sat next to him and they elapsed into surprisingly comfortable silence.

"You shouldn't be up here, you know." Annabeth murmured to him, eyes on the city. "The demititans could find you, or worse, the gods. They'd incinerate you within seconds."

"That might not be so bad," Percy mused, "after what I've been through."

"Don't say that!" Annabeth told him fiercely. "Not only would it mess up things in your world, it would completely destroy the system in our Underworld. Logically there's only room for one Perseus, and because this isn't your world, you're not destined to die in ours. The judges wouldn't be able to give you fair trial. It would mess up everything! And besides that I thought you wanted to find m-"

She faltered, realizing what she was about to say. The child of the sea god examined her face. It was dizzying how exactly she looked like his Wise Girl and yet how she acted so differently. The way she carried herself, the was she put her hair into a tight, high ponytail instead of a loose one, the way he couldn't seem to make her laugh or smile - it separated them like an invisible barrier, choking off any chance of middle-ground. This girl was war-torn on an entirely different level than the Annabeth he knew. While he and the daughter of Athena had supported each other throughout their hardships, this Annabeth had had everything she'd cared about torn from her. But maybe, the way she sometimes stared at him, as if he were somebody else...

"And I thought you were supposed to hate Perseus."

The blonde's head snapped up, gray eyes piercing and cold, but also guarded. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" he asked, speaking cautiously. "If you had really hated Perseus as much as everyone's been claiming you do then you wouldn't of given me a second thought."

"I wanted to question him. I wanted to-"

"Annabeth." Percy gave her a look. "You bothered to offer to send me home. And now you're helping me; anyone else would've thrown me out with the garbage, but you decided you wanted to help me. I just want to know why."

The gray eyed girl stared at him, trying to look angry, but then her shoulders slumped and she looked away.

"I'll show you why." she whispered before descending the mound, picking her way through the rubble.

As the two walked through the cracked and decimated streets, Percy couldn't help but stare at the mortal forms. It was like a surreal nightmare come true. He could see the motionless figures lying in the wreckage and sometimes even under it. Percy got the sick feeling that, even if Morpheus' spell wasn't on New York, most of these people wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"You just left them here?" the demigod asked, sorrow seeping into his tone. Annabeth looked at him with a stoic expression before sighing.

"You have to understand, we tried to get them out of the city, but there was a barrier field. Try to drag someone over and they'll end up worse-off than asleep. Trust me, I know."

A morbid silence followed them until Annabeth finally stopped. Percy looked up to see the space where the Empire State Building _should've_ been; only one thing remained standing.

"Is that-"

"The elevator." Annabeth interrupted, "Yes, it is. The last remaining monument to the gods in all of New York."

The elevator to Olympus. It was dented and damaged, and the doors were closed just enough that a person couldn't fit through. It sparked and spluttered, and it'd even started to rust over the years. The shaft above was gone - cleaved off at a jagged point - and severed electrical wires jutted out in every direction.

"What happened?"

"We defeated Kronos," the daughter of wisdom stated simply, "and his army got angry."

She stepped towards it, almost touching it before slowly retracting her fingertips, pulling her hand away. Percy wanted to warn her to be careful, but she was far off in another world.

"We did it here." the half-blood murmured, and Percy wasn't certain if he was meant to hear or not. "Nico and I, and- and Luke. This is where he died. We defeated him, but nothing ever comes without a price."

There was a pause.

"Did you love him?"

"Nico?" Annabeth asked, her voice dazed. "No. Luke? Maybe. I'm not really sure anymore. It all seemed so different when I was younger, and now, when I look back on it, it was all really more childish than anything. Besides, there was always someone else to... to consider."

She sat down hard, and her eyes made their way to his.

"But now Luke's gone, and I'm here." she whispered, almost inaudibly. "And even though I know that the Fates will always have a reason, I feel so lost."

Percy kneeled down next to her.

"What happened next, Annabeth." He whispered it in her ear, gingerly gripping her hand in his.

She stared into his eyes for a second, her own eyes gray pools of emotion. She looked so lost, just so, ... broken. Opening her mouth, the girl hesitated before speaking again.

"Then the time border broke and the mortals outside found out, but the government refused to send in help. It didn't really surprise any of us. Kronos might've wanted to take over the world, but his remaining forces still have to defeat us and the gods first before they'll ever come after them. Besides, Morpheus' spell is still up, which means that any mortals that approach New York will fall under the power of the sleeping trance."

She looked up at him, her gray eyes big and fearful. "Percy, before you asked me why I hadn't killed you yet - why I'd kept you around." She swallowed. "It's because we need you. ..."

"It's because _I_ need you."

Third Person

'Annabeth's POV

Annabeth sat at her desk, tapping her pencil against the uneven wood in an attempt to distract her thoughts. The vacant room felt heavy with silence, and the demigod was practically suffocating on the memory of her talk with Percy. The child of Athena dropped her pencil in exasperation, letting it clatter noisily before rolling off the desk. The blonde put her face in her hands, taking in a shaky breath and cursing inwardly. She couldn't believe she'd actually told him that - that she'd said it _out loud_.

"I'm such an idiot." she murmured to herself.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, dear."

Annabeth spun around, her dagger now in her hands. Behind the demigod stood a woman in a beautiful, flowing gown. Her features flickered from one gorgeous face to another, always with perfect make-up and well-kept hair. Her kaleidoscope eyes glittered with hunger and excitement. As soon as she saw the knife, though, Aphrodite frowned.

"Oh, Annabeth, do put that away. We both know you're smart enough not to threaten a goddess."

The daughter of Athena glared as she inwardly battled with herself. The gods had locked themselves away, leaving no way to be contacted by their children for years now. Some might've call it a blessing to see a divine face after so long, but it only made the blonde more hesitant. Aphrodite hadn't even visited her own children, and now she was coming to see Annabeth? And for what, some trivial love talk?

"Oh, it's not trivial." the love goddess spoke, brushing off the half-blood's thoughts. "And you've made it obvious that you already know what I'm here for, so let's get on with it. Shall we?"

The daughter of wisdom blinked. "What?"

"Love, my darling." the deity stated plainly. "Of course, whether you know whom it is you love is another question entirely."

A table appeared beside the goddess, and a plush pink sofa materialized beneath her; a matching one placed itself on the opposite side, and Annabeth hesitantly sat, ignoring the last line of the love goddess's statement. A set of tea sat in the center of the table, and Aphrodite filled a cup, swirling the mixture with her spoon.

"That was very clever of you, by the way," she mused, "lying to Percy like you did earlier."

The half-blood was about to protest, but Aphrodite swept on, taking her expression the wrong way. "Don't worry! I know about him, yes, but only because of certain... aspects of his life. I sensed him and Annabeth the second they arrived, but the other members of the council are still just as oblivious as ever. His secret is safe with me. Anyway, less about him and more about you. I was absolutely delighted when I heard your little conversation earlier - admitting that you needed him. And we all know that you didn't mean it in terms of the war. Of course, my point is that you really didn't want _him_ that way, either. No, you truly must stop lying to yourself, my dear. Loving one of the enemy isn't _so_ bad, after all. Just look at Helen and Paris, or Romeo and Juliet!"

"I'm not in love with the enemy!" Annabeth spluttered, finally getting a word in edge-wise.

"Ah, still in denial, are we?" Aphrodite sent her a sympathetic look while still managing to radiate an extraordinary amount of glee. The blonde opened her mouth to interrupt, but the goddess silenced her with a look.

"Ah, ah. And why do you think you're associating all of these feelings with Percy, then?"

Annabeth clenched her fists and strengthened her resolve. "I'm not in love with him." the demigod spoke evenly. "I'm too rational for that."

"Then why haven't you killed him yet?"

The girl's back stiffened, and her eyes shot up to see the goddess throwing her a serious expression. "I'm not a fool, Annabeth, no matter how heroes think me to be. I know that you're a daughter of Athena, and Athena always considers all of the factors. So why haven't you? This boy could've been a spy, or an enemy. He could've been even worse in his world than Perseus is in ours. So why did you spare him?"

The demigod commander was at a loss for words. How could Aphrodite possibly say all of that? - _Think _allof that? - Annabeth knew it wasn't true. It ... It _couldn't_ be.

"If it isn't," the love goddess spoke, looking down at the tea she was stirring, "then why did you let go of Luke?"

Aphrodite's eyes set upon her prey. "I know you, Annabeth. I may not be the goddess of wisdom, and I may not be an expert on how the brain works, but I do know love. I know emotions and the heart and how they affect the people around them. You are a girl who holds onto what she cares for with a vice. If you had loved Luke as much as everyone was so sure you did, you never would have let him die. You would've found a way or died trying. But you let him go. You and I both know why, but I think I'll refresh your memory."

Her eyes gleamed, reading right through Annabeth's stiff façade. "When Perseus first came to Camp Half-Blood he caught your attention immediately. He got along well with your friend Grover. He seemed kind and welcoming. He even got along especially well with Luke, although you obviously couldn't have know that they were both working together with Kronos at the time. When Luke was found out, Perseus acted as a shelter to you, and I'm sure that you thought he was your friend. That he could maybe be more than a friend. And then Thalia was poisoned, and Perseus was found to be one of the enemy. He had remained unclaimed for far too long, and you all realized why much too late. And the next year, he lead a team of monsters through the labyrinth, destroying Camp Half-Blood and taking over. I know how you felt, Annabeth. I know that you were crushed when you ran into the Romans and had to explain to Jason why his sister was dead. It hurt you in more ways than one. You tried to block Perseus out after all of the lies and bitterness he caused you, but the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, as you mortals say. The topic was sure to come up some time. But I suppose you never imagined it happening _this_ way. You tried to get rid of him, but he wanted to stay. And then you found out why he was here: he was looking for _you_, and he wouldn't leave without you, or more accurately, _her_. You've been watching him. - Oh, no, I know you have. Don't try to argue. You'd never win against a goddess anyway. - I know what you've been hoping. If _this_ Percy is like this, than maybe he wasn't acting. Maybe he really was your friend. Maybe he's somehow been mislead. You're in love with the enemy, Annabeth, and I fully support that, but don't let it swallow you whole."

The goddess flicked her wrist and disappeared in a puff of perfumed smoke. The half-blood came out of her shock as she felt the sofa beginning to dissipate from beneath her. "Wait!" she called out, but Aphrodite was already gone.

Laying on the floor, Annabeth felt a deep, twisting pit emerging in her stomach. She felt suddenly bare, as though all of her deepest secrets had been forcefully ripped from her. Which, the blonde supposed, they had. She gripped herself tightly. If even Aphrodite wasn't putting all of her cards in one place, what was there left to hope for?

**Gosh, I really am depressing, aren't I? Sorry, guys, but you'll just have to live with my evil-complex. ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**First off, thank you all so very much for your flattery. I know that many of you are** **very confused, but everything will clear itself up along the way. ;D Enjoy the story!**

**Hibernia12 - Yes, Aphrodite tends to overcomplicate things. There's a reason not everybody understood what she was saying. She is a confusing goddess who is obsessed with love. ;)**

**henrie locker - There is a purpose behind every actions, including actions of restraint. You shall see, young grasshopper, and then you will understand.**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Tell your brother that he is indeed right: Something big _is_ about to happen. And yes, I like the suspense, too. It's part of what makes this so fun. :D Mwahahahaha... And to you - thank you. I too hope that none of those non-existent aliens invade. I know that the chapter was sad, but that's just part of Annabeth's life. It really kind of sucks.**

**BookReader10 - Thank you! ;D So am I; I always look forward to the next chapter. Hearing from you guys is always such a blast. :)**

**ChocolateWriter - I'm glad that you say I got Aphrodite right. Getting a character wrong is always my greatest fear. ... Well, no, my greatest fear might be a Minion rebellion because the story turned out to be dissatisfying. But ah well! :D I thought you guys deserved a backstory, so there you go! :)**

**ArcherGirl12 - Well, she doesn't love Percy. It's what he _reminds_ her of that really tears her heart out.**

**Percabeth24 - Sorry to confuse you, but that's kind of how the gods are. Especially Aphrodite. As for Alternate Annabeth's knowledge of the dating, that comes into play later...**

**Guest2.0 - Your flattery is too great for such a writer as me. I only hope that I can live up to it. I do my best and put a little piece of myself into my work in the hopes that my Minions will enjoy it, and I'm glad to see that it is paying off. Unfortunately, on the Internet, identity is sacred. I will not be able to tell you if I publish anything. :( I am sincerely sorry. I'm glad that I could give you the information that you wanted, and I hope that someday you will find a book and will just know that you have felt that thrill before. And then you shall know that it is mine. ;) Enjoy the story. :)**

**Thank you to inv2, to forgotten-again, to BookReader10, to seaweedbrainlover1117, to beautifulshipofblueandgray, and to **

**TheGreekMenace for Following and/or Favoriting me and/or my story(ies).**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, it's not genetically possible. Oh well, we'll come up with something else...**

**Dedication: To Guest2.0 for his/her undying dedication to my story. I do hope that someday your flattery will be shown as true and that I will write a story worth publishing. I hope that you are there to see it. ;D**

**Enjoy everyone. It's time for you to finally see the light. The dawn is beginning to rise...**

Chapter Thirteen

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

It was three days before Annabeth heard anything. The half-blood remained locked in her black, lightless room. Food and water appeared only while she was making trips to the adjoining, windowless bathroom. There was no chance for an escape. Still, Annabeth was not the least bit surprised when the guard told her she had a visitor. Nor was she surprised when she found out who it was.

Cora.

The daughter of Metis entered with a smug smile playing across her face. "Hello, Annabeth."

The demigod remained silent.

"Don't worry," the demititan assured sarcastically as though the conversation had continued. "I had the cameras shut off for us. We've got the room all to ourselves. After all, such a highly esteemed guest deserves her privacy."

The child of wisdom snapped. "What did you do to him?"

"There's the golden question." Cora smirked, her dark eyes full of cruel glee. "I think you know exactly what I did to him, you just don't know _how._"

The dark haired girl paced around her captive, an air of defiant superiority following in her wake.

"My mother is Metis, Titaness of wisdom and good council. My mother is also a fool." The girl frowned at the wall, her features reflecting her incompetent displeasure. "All of her immortal life, Metis chose to deny who she was. She toiled endlessly for the gods, bringing them good council and proper advice and instruction, unlike _Athena_. And what did she get for her work? _Nothing_. She was replaced by your despicable mother, and still she believed that she belonged to the gods."

"So you did know." Annabeth stated, staring bitterly at the enemy half-blood.

"That your mother was Athena?" Cora scoffed, "Of course I knew. You gave off a horrible aura of it when we found you. It gave me a splitting headache, which, I suppose, is an accurate description of the goddess."

"'We'." Annabeth repeated. She felt her the blood rising to her face as her nerves began to boil. She had felt that something was a little off with Cora since her second day in the base, but this was just low.

"Oh, yes, 'we'. Ethan was the leader of the party that discovered you. I simply told him that Perseus had ordered I go along, and he obviously couldn't argue with _that_. I knew he wouldn't question Perseus about it later, either; it was too meaningless an argument. I helped find you, and, when no one was watching, I took this."

The girl unsheathed the sword at her belt, and Annabeth had to force herself not to tackle the demititan on the spot.

"I knew instantly you must be from another realm. After all, where on this earth could you possibly have gotten such a fine, strange sword?" She examined the Drakon bone, running her finger along the side of the fine edge. "But back to the topic at hand. Because my mother is the Titaness of good judgement, I have a certain... influence over most beings. I simply slip a thought in here and another there, enforce it, and suddenly they feel compelled to listen. In fact, if it's done for long enough, they start to believe those little suggestions are their own thoughts." She smiled darkly, basking in her own power.

"You're controlling him." the child of Athena proclaimed in disgust. Her suspicions were confirmed, and she didn't like what that meant. "What's the point in all of this?"

"The point," Cora snapped, suddenly serious. "is that I wanted revenge against the gods, and he wasn't moving fast enough. You're in my way, and for some reason, he wasn't compelled enough on his own to get rid of you. I couldn't get into _your _thoughts - as much as I hate to admit it, children of Athena aren't entirely dim-witted - this was simply the easiest way out."

"Just because you couldn't get into my head," Annabeth spoke, just a cold and just as harsh, "doesn't mean you have to get into his."

Cora let out a laugh. "You really don't understand, do you? The only reason I can't get into your head is because I haven't had enough time to work on you. I have everyone here wrapped around my finger! Luke was here to fill the position of a leader, but he fell too easily. By the time he had secured his own pitiful fate I had realized it was time for me to step up. Everyone in this base right now is doing exactly what I want them to do. Ethan is here to put Perseus on edge, to make him more susceptible to my powers. To distract him. Mia is here to help him believe he's not alone, and the poor, innocent girl doesn't even need to be controlled; she messes everything up all on her own. And Perseus, ... Well, he's incredibly perceptive. That's the problem. There are certain things one shouldn't know and certain secrets that ought to remain secret. You could say that I'm simply doing a favor for his ... _father._ I prevent him from seeing things he shouldn't see and knowing things he shouldn't know."

Pure anger bubbled up in Annabeth. "You can't just manipulate people!" she yelled. "How can you even stand yourself?!"

"Oh, it's really not that hard." Cora caught her eye, the daughter of Metis seemingly unphased. This reaction only succeeded in triggering more of Annabeth's frustration. "Not if you want something as badly as I do." She continued her pacing, her hand gripping the hilt of Annabeth's sword. "But now I've got to get rid of you." she spoke, malice filling her voice. "Because ever since you got here, it's been harder and harder to get into his head. He's been fighting harder and, if you stay, he might just realize what's really going on. And we can't have _that_, can we?"

"And what about Mia?" Annabeth argued. She knew it was risky playing that card, but she had to find out if Cora saw the daughter of Prometheus as a threat. "You're not controlling her; she could find out the truth; she could stop you."

"Mia's too clueless to think for herself. She's too shy to stand against me. She'll do whatever I say. And now," Cora stopped, eyeing the end of the bed. It struck the demigod what she was doing, but by the time Annabeth lunged, it was too late. "I think I'll take this with me." the black haired girl spoke, holding up the blonde's Yankee's cap while pointing the drakon sword at its owner's throat. "We don't want you escaping, after all. Not when you're such a highly esteemed guest."

Cora's laughter filled the room and hung there, even after she had left. Annabeth felt a dark chill as she gazed at the locked door to her escape. A feeling of helplessness swarmed her as she realized that she could do nothing to stop this. It was all up to Percy now, wherever he happened to be.

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus shook his head, trying to remove the awful headache he'd been plagued by for the past three days. The teen felt like a cloud had fallen over his mind, obscuring his senses and muting everything around him.

"Here," Cora stepped out from behind him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "Drink this." She handed him a cup of what looked to be hot cocoa, which seemed a strange choice of beverage for such a hot summer day. But the wafting fumes were already lessening the pounding in his skull, almost like magic.

The thought was smothered as soon as it entered his head, crushed by an foreign force. Seconds later, the one-eyed boy had forgotten the idea entirely.

Cora always knew how to make him feel better. No, wait; not 'better', exactly. 'Different', Perseus supposed, was a more appropriate word for it.

"How did the meeting go?" the commander asked, closing his eye tightly and taking a sip.

"Oh, well enough," the half-blood spoke with such calm ease that it was almost unnatural. This thought, too, was smothered. "The girl still won't admit to having her memories, but that can be altered with time."

Perseus took another sip. "And tell me again, why was it necessary for me to turn off the cameras?" _And,_ the raven haired boy thought, _why did I listen to you in the first place?_

For a second, the air almost seemed tense, but Perseus decided he must've imagined it. Cora wasn't a tense kind of person.

"I just don't want to have to burden you with such an insignificant task," the daughter of Metis told him. "You have enough stress on you already. You don't have to worry about her, Perseus, I can take care of it."

The demititan leader spent a moment trying to define her tone, but the thought slipped away before he could even formulate it.

_What is happening to me?_ he wondered desperately, grasping at straws. He groaned. "I don't know what's wrong with me lately," The son of Oceanus blinked his eye furiously and grasped his hand to his forehead. "It's almost like someone else is in my head."

Cora seemed to stiffen, and the green eyed commander almost wondered why before the world faded again. "It's O.K.," the girl intoned almost forcefully, "You've just been a bit angry lately. That's all."

_Angry?_ Perseus was slightly miffed by this. I feel too tired to be angry. _I don't_ want _to be angry. In fact, why was I ever angry before? I don't think I really like being angry at Annabeth_.

"You have to be!" came an shout of frustration from his companion. "This is all _her_ fault." Cora muttered, "_She's_ doing this; I knew I should've gotten rid of her!"

Things grew slightly cleared for Perseus, as if his headache's hold was slipping.

"Cora? What are you talking about? I didn't say anything." And for the first time since she'd entered the room, he really looked at her. The black haired teen was frozen like she had been caught in the act of murder. Her gaze was slightly crazed and her eyes darted around like a deer caught in headlights. The sea child's mind was suddenly rushing back to him and his thoughts seemed so much clearer. He had been thinking of Annabeth... He hadn't been angry at her at all! So what-

The boy probably would've confronted Cora, given the time, but just then Ethan burst into the monitor room, panting heavily and coated in sweat.

"Sir," the son of Nemesis proclaimed, "We're under attack."

The demititan's memory of the past few minutes was once again lost, replaced by a burning rage that was not his own. All independent thought collapsed, and there was only a voice whispering in his ear, telling him to fight for the cause. The voice knew who's fault it was, and now so did he.

"Bring me the girl." Perseus ordered Ethan, oblivious to the look of wicked glee lapsing onto Cora's features.

"Her Percy wants her back? Well he can come and get her; I'd like to see him try."


	14. Chapter 14

**A warning, everybody: This chapter doesn't pick up where the last one left off. it backtracks a little.**

**If I named my chapters, this one would probably be: "_I'm Crowned the Sewage King ... Again._"**

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**Maddie - You've guessed my deep dark secret! I do love cliffhangers! :O *Gasps of Shock!* As for Percy and Perseus, you will have to wait and see. :) Carry on, Minion. Enjoy the ride.**

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**Thanks to Kenation, to Surkrem, and to Spudato for Following and/or Favoriting this story.**

**Disclaimer: Rick doesn't have awesome Minions. That's all that needs to be said.**

**Dedication: This is to all of you. I hope you all love it. ;) The climax begins next chapter, guys!**

Chapter Fourteen

Third Person

Percy's POV

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

Percy sat with Annabeth in front of a set of large doors. The two were leaning against the long concrete wall, seated on the bare, cold floor.

The daughter of Athena looked down at her hands, not meeting his eyes.

"Percy, you have to understand, no plan is fool-proof. At most we go over the best plan we have the best we can and pray to the gods that it works."

"Which, in this case, we can't." the son of Poseidon commented with bitter humor. "Because then they would kill me." He stared up at the stark, cold-looking ceiling and the hallway's dim, blinking lights.

She glanced sideways at him, letting out a sigh. "If you're waiting for me to deny it, it's not going to happen. I did warn you, after all. You do realize that if you do this, they'll know you're here."

The boy looked down. "I know."

Silence consumed them, surprisingly comfortable. But comfort had never been a real option for Percy.

"You know that she could be dead."

The raven haired boy shook his head. "Annabeth? Nah, she's always been able to take care of herself. Sometimes she takes care of me at the same time. Besides, he won't kill her."

The blonde peered at him, picking him apart with her gaze. "How can you tell? And give me a _logical_ answer to that question."

Percy laughed, "We've been over this. You didn't kill me, so why would he kill her?" He added, as an after-thought, "Besides, I just know."

Annabeth let out a groan of frustration and leaned back into the wall. "'I just know' is _not_ a logical answer."

"Fine." The sea child examined her features. The daughter of Athena was glancing away, avoiding eye contact. She looked like she was trying to escape, but not from him. Almost from what he represented, at least in her mind. "I don't think he's killed her, because, in that situation, I wouldn't have killed you."

The gray eyed girl glanced over in hesitation, unable to fully read into his comment.

"He wouldn't kill you, either, Annabeth."

She opened her mouth to reply, but a tone sounded over the compound, and her focus shifted in the blink of an eye.

"Come on, it's time."

She smiled slightly in his direction and have him a light punch on the arm. It was a bit hesitant, but the action still sent the boy a painful reminder of his girlfriend. "Go win one for her, Percy."

The demigod cracked open one of the doors and peeked through to the hall beyond. He looked over at her. "Are you certain this'll work? I mean, I'm pretty sure everybody out there hates me."

The blonde's smile broadened. "You'll win, and you'll impress them, too. I'm sure of it. I've seen you in action, remember?"

He took a breath and opened the doors.

"Knock 'em dead, Seaweed Brain."

The son of Poseidon almost did a double-take, but Annabeth was already walking away.

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Percy made his way through the hall and into the arena.

The crowd didn't cheer when the half-blood stepped out. They didn't shout or jeer, but the eerie quiet made up for that by the multiple of a thousand. The son of the sea god felt a pang in his chest; he _knew_ these people, but to them he was nothing but a complete stranger. Or worse, an enemy.

Octavian stood from the crowd, and the sight of him reminded Percy momentarily of the Oracle, Rachel. The pit in his stomach grew further as the teen considered where his friend could be at the moment - maybe lying under the rubble with the other mortals.

A rage filled the half-blood as he thought of what his counterpart had done, and the feeling didn't lessen any as the scrawny augur began his speech.

"Perseus has come to us playing a masquerade as our friend, begging us for help in a task that will undoubtedly lead us to our doom. This boy, claiming to be a son of Poseidon, expects us to follow him blindly to our deaths, but we will not be deceived. If he wants our help, he must first win our approval. _If_ he passes our test, then and only then will we judge whether or not he is deserving."

Even at a distance, Percy could sense Jason clenching his jaw. They had both shared an instant dislike for the augur, and it was one of the things that strengthened their friendship. But even Jason didn't stand up in his defense. In this world, Percy had no friends here, not even amongst family.

"You've got one thing wrong, Octavian," the half-blood shouted up at him, grinning. His hand slipped into his pocket, grasping Riptide. "My name isn't 'Perseus'," He pulled the pen free, "It's Percy Jackson."

The green eyed demigod slipped off the cap, and Anaklusmos shone in the torchlight of the underground colosseum. Astonished mumblings traveled through the audience, but Percy wasn't sure whether it was from his choice of weapon or of the mention of his last name. The Perseus they knew had no second name.

Of course not. Murderers didn't need names.

Percy looked around him, trying to take an account of who was in the stands and who wasn't. Annabeth had explained to him that normally she would be the one testing a demigod in the arena, but since she had been the one to vouch for him, the others had vetoed the idea. He and Annabeth had both agreed; Percy didn't want the crowd to think she had gone easy on him. Jason would've been the next candidate, but, taking in the fact that the son of Jupiter had tried to kill him earlier, that option was a 'no'. The half-bloods didn't want to _kill_ him.

At least, not yet.

A grinding noise thundered through the colosseum as the large doors along the bottom of the arena were edged open. The son of Poseidon turned. Six of them: Six doors; six openings; six opponents.

The Ares kids strode out into the arena, weapons swinging at their sides as if there was no threat at all. They sized Percy up and scoffed at him, playing him down as a minor problem waiting to be extinguished.

And then Clarisse entered.

The daughter of the war god approached him more warily than her brothers and sisters, her eyes flitting over him like he was a nuclear bomb about to go off. When her siblings saw her careful movements compared to theirs, they reluctantly altered their stances. The boy almost smiled; Clarisse wasn't always as thick-headed as everyone took her to be.

The children of Ares circled up around him, and the first boy lunged. It didn't take long for Percy to realize what was going on. The tactics of Ares' kids had never been complex; they preferred simple and brutal to anything else, and it worked for them.

Well, most of the time.

The theme was easy to follow, and it wasn't half bad of a plan, either. They had surrounded him so he couldn't get away, then they'd send in one guy at a time until they had worn him into the ground. It was a surprisingly patient method for children of a god Percy knew to be quick to act first and think never.

The second boy came in from behind, and the green eyed teen's original opponent backed up into the circle. Percy jumped as the boy swiped at his feet, stepping on the guy's sword.

Unfortunately for them, the half-blood thought, he wasn't about to go along with their plans.

What did the crowd want to see? Percy asked himself as he stepped off the sword, sending the other kid falling on his podex.

"Come on, fish boy," the boy goaded angrily, jumping to his feet and pressing the sea child even harder. "Stop joking around and actually fight me!"

Hmmm, maybe they weren't very patient after all.

The son of Poseidon let a small grin slip onto his face. "Just remember," he instructed, "You asked for it." He put more power into his swing, catching the son of Ares off balance. The raven haired teen swept his feet underneath his opponent, sending him crashing to the floor. In one swift move, Percy smashed the heel of his sword into the older boy's helmet, sufficiently denting the metal and knocking his victim unconscious. The crowd held its breath. One demigod down, and he hadn't even used his powers.

Three of the remaining five came at him.

But how, Percy wondered, was he going to pull this off without expending himself?

Another Ares kid hit the dirt.

After all, he didn't even know if there was water nearby.

Or did he?

Percy ducked as two girls swung at once, nearly decapitating him. Clarisse called out a command and the remaining demigods retreated.

The son of Poseidon examined the four: Clarisse, the younger boy he had fought first, and two buff, ugly girls. Counter to what he'd seen just prior the battle, the head daughter of Ares was no longer the calm, collected girl she had appeared to be. Clarisse La'Rue was definitely _not_ in her happy place at the moment. She pushed her siblings back and came at him swinging her electric spear for all it was worth.

Percy had had an awful lot of déjà-vu moments since he'd appeared in the demigod base - most of them involving his first year at camp - but this one took the cake. And man, he did _not_ want to fight another angry Clarisse with that same old stupid spear. He didn't even have the river this time.

It appeared that the Fates were listening to Percy's plea (whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he would wonder afterwards) because just at that moment - as the son of Poseidon ducked under Clarisse's swing - the Drakon fell through the roof.

Now, Percy had seen too many Drakons in his lifetime, and none of those encounters had been pleasant. This Drakon, though, must've been pretty young because it was only 40 feet long instead of 200.

Clarisse stiffened, her demeanor suddenly changing, but it was only noticeable for a second. The burly older girl turned towards him, her eyes bottomless pits of burning fire. Something told the sea child that this wasn't the first time the half-blood had encountered a monster of this type.

Clarisse had found a new prey.

"Leave it to me and stay the Hades out of my way, punk." The child of the war god tromped off toward the enemy creature, and Percy almost let a smile slip onto his face. Now _this_ was the Clarisse he knew.

"YOU WANT A FIGHT, BEASTIE?! she yelled - almost screamed, "COME AND GET IT!"

Her tangled mass of hair spread out behind her as she charged the Drakon. "FOR SILENA!"

The raven haired demigod's heart froze and plummeted into his gut. Maybe this world wasn't so different from his own.

Swallowing down his emotions, Percy followed, charging after her. Clarisse was keeping herself pretty well-preoccupied, but she still saw him coming.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my way!" she yelled at him as she dodged the incoming tail flying towards her. Percy ducked under it and jumped in besides her. "I can help you!" he called back, "Just listen to me!"

"Battle is for action, not for some sissy tea-party." The daughter of Ares charged past him, grunting with effort as she struck the beast with her spear. The blade came glancing off, sparks flying. The son of Poseidon clenched his jaw, frustrated. He would have to show her, just like he's planned on showing the crowd, but the water...

Percy remembered back to his tour with Piper, and then to the day afterwards. If he was picturing the HideOut correctly, then the Reservoir wasn't very far from the arena. If he could just get through the pipes,.. The demigod closed his eyes in an attempt to focus.

"What are you- Watch out you idiot!"

A rumble sounded deep in the earth, and the Colosseum started to shake. The green eyed half-blood felt a clenching in his gut. Clarisse stopped her screaming as a giant hand of murky sewage water caught the Drakon's tail just three seconds before it would've rammed full-speed into Percy. A large, burst pipe stuck out of a newly-made hole in the ground not far away. Percy had been aiming for the Reservoir, but the bathrooms would do just fine - talk about déjà-voo.

A more-than-slightly-damp Clarisse stood five feet from the burst sewage pipe, her mouth hanging open in disbelief - whether from the shock of seeing his powers or from her anger over being dumped with toilet-water, Percy didn't know. The child of the war god stared as tendrils of filthy water wrapped their way around the Drakon's body. The creature cried out so mournfully that Percy almost would've felt sorry for it if it hasn't been trying to kill all of them a moment earlier. The child of the sea god felt the strain growing in his gut and fell to his knees as of he'd been punched. The water was following his command, but it was taking more energy to control, almost as if it could tell that he didn't belong there. As the boy crumpled to the floor, Clarisse finally came out of her stupor. The beefy girl cried out and charged the fallen monster, imbedding her electric spear into a loose plate around it's neck. The Drakon let out its last, piercing wale before it finally exploded onto a damp, filthy pile of sand. Percy smiled grimly as the feeling in his gut loosened, and he pulled himself to his feet. He made his way over to the group of stunned children of Ares and patted the first boy on the back. The green eyed boy surveyed the scene once more, the other boy unmoving at his side, his eyes wide and his mouth even wider.

Percy turned to Octavian high up in the crowd and he gave a long, flowing bow. Then, he turned and walked out.

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth blinked at the arena and allowed a light smile to cross her face as she watched Clarisse La'Rue look down at her soaked clothing before screaming, "I'm going to kill him!" The occupants of the stands finally began to move at the sound of the angry girl's shouts. Heated whispering filled the air, but the daughter of Athena just stared at the now filth-covered fighting area. If Percy's plan had been to make an impression, he certainly had succeeded. Although the sewage had been a little unorthodox, it had been executed brilliantly.

The blonde heard snuffling noises coming from a few rows down and looked over to see Grover before quickly turning away. Not, of course, before sensing the panic in his eyes. Ever since Aphrodite had paid her little visit, the demigod hadn't been quite herself, and since Grover could read emotions...

Or maybe it was that she was now _more_ herself. Annabeth stared into the arena again. To Tartarus with what anyone else thought. Nobody ever said that love was an easy thing to deal with.

"Demigods!" Jason's voice resonated throughout the stands as he stood before the crowd. "I know it's been tough having Percy here - especially after recent events. It's been tough for all of us! But we have to remember our original goal. I-" He cleared his throat. "I've been short-sighted lately. I've thought of myself. But recently I was reminded by someone that this war isn't about me," The pointed, greatful look shot towards Piper was not lost on Annabeth. "This is about all of us. And if we can't trust Percy, then who have we got to trust?"

The pure shock encasing the arena was palpable as Jason finished his statement. If even the son of Jupiter - who held a bone-deep grudge against Perseus - was willing to stand with the son of Poseidon, then there was no doubt about what they had to do. The cheer rose slowly at first; it started out as a hesitant whisper, but quickly rose in a crescendo of noise. The word "Percy" rang through the arena, the shouts shaking its foundations and echoing throughout their hearts.

***Line Break***

Percy's request of where to hold the final war meeting was unexpected to all but Annabeth, and to just about everyone, it seemed stupid and inconvenient. Less than three hours as head Commander, and his troops were already losing faith in him. And even Annabeth wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Standing in the middle of the large expanse of water, visible to all, Percy stood above the surface of the Reservoir, two hundred demigods set out before him. In her heavy battle armor, Annabeth felt uncomfortable standing anywhere near the water, let alone over it, and she could see that many of the others felt the same way. But the daughter of Athena would have to hold strong. She had dragged herself into this; it was time to face her decision and stand firm, just like her Mother would have done.

The green eyed boy watched them from over water, waiting for Jason's signal to start. His posture was more confident now, but also more natural. Annabeth realized for the first time that Percy really was a natural-born leader, and that maybe Jason hadn't been the only blind one in this whole experience.

The son of Jupiter nodded at his kind-of-cousin and turned to the crowd packed in behind him. He raised his hands and called for silence. Despite their disputes over their current-environment, silence fell almost immediately. The demigods all turned to Percy as the boy before them cleared his throat.

"I know that when I first arrived here, things were shaky between all of us, and I've not naive enough to think that any of that has changed. But today isn't about that. In the short time that I've been here, I've already seen that your trust of each other is strong and not an easy thing to earn, so instead of continuing on pointlessly _telling_ you that you can trust me, why don't I just show you."

Confused mumblings spread along the lines of half-bloods. Annabeth wasn't sure what the words meant until the sea child's eyes met hers and he held out his hands, palms facing up.

The gray eyed demigod's heart froze. She visibly hesitated, obvious doubt lacing her features. Percy's expression remained calm and open as he held out his hands to her, fifteen feet out across the water. And then he spoke:

"I promise that I won't let you fall."

The daughter of Athena steeled herself and took a breath, stepping out into the the water.

"Annabeth!"

Jason's cry was suddenly silenced as the blonde commander rested her full weight into the water more than a foot away from the edge of the Reservoir. His hand - outstretched to catch her - was frozen mid-motion. The demigods on the shore stared in awe as Annabeth glanced back towards them before quickly turning forwards. Now that she was out there, she _definitely_ didn't want to fall.

Focusing her attention halfway on balance and the rest on Percy, Annabeth prepared herself for her next step. The concept was impossible - terrifyingly impossible. The blonde closed her eyes, struggled to take in a deep breath, and moved forward. The daughter of Athena felt the weight slip from her shoulders as Percy caught her. Her eyes blinked open in relief as she turned to face him, his eyes catching hers. Her heart stopped.

"I told you I would catch you." The phrase was a whispered laugh, his green eyes shining with life. The gray eyed girl wondered if this was what his Annabeth felt like all the time: heart frozen, but flowing with warmth all at once. At the same time the girl felt like she wanted to cry. This wasn't what she wanted, and what she did want was much too far out of reach - it had been for years now.

The child of wisdom swallowed hard and turned back to the crowd, putting on a smile. For a moment there was no movement, and then a rustling started near back. Annabeth watched as Piper breached the first line of demigods, her head turning hesitantly from side to side. The child of Aphrodite looked to her and Percy, flitting her eyes for just a second towards Jason before stepping off across the water. The son of Jupiter opened his mouth and reached out his hand again, putting his foot out to run after her. Jason looked down at the water, a moment of fear passing over his features. Annabeth knew the younger boy well enough to tell that he wasn't afraid of the water, but that he had for the longest time feared the person controlling it - whether he would admit to it or not. It wasn't easy letting go. For any of them.

The blond haired Roman glanced up again and watched as Piper reached Percy and Annabeth. His expression steeled, and he stepped out to meet the water.

By the time Jason made it over to the other three, the number of half-bloods on the water was steadily growing. Seven more had stepped out in that time and were walking toward them - one of which was Clarisse. And more began to follow. Annabeth almost wondered if Percy would be able to hold all of them, but the thought soon disappeared. This exercise was all about trust. He wouldn't have suggested it to them if raven haired teen didn't know what he was capable of.

Surrounded by a crowd of awed and excited half-bloods, Annabeth found herself packed in next to Jason. She reached over to him and lightly grasped his shoulder. "Thalia would've been proud of you, Jason. She would be so proud." He glanced at her and blinked, nodding his head in silence. His electric blue eyes were misty and unsure.

The blonde looked back towards the crowd. The army of demigods was prepared and ready for battle. Clarisse and her siblings let out a battle cry and the rest joined her. Percy turned to Annabeth, helmet in hand. His grim face brought her back to reality with a jolt.

"Come on, Commander Chase, let's take back Camp Half-Blood."

**Boom. Go Percy and sort-of-Annabeth! ;D Climax Climax Climax!**


	15. Chapter 15

**My beautiful, wonderful Minions, you get a treat! To those of you who are awake at this dastardly hour, you get a slightly early update! :D I'll be unable to update later today for reasons in my own personal life that need not be disclosed. Anyway, I'll probably be able to update the rest of these days depending on other factors that also need not be disclosed. The point is, if I _don't_ update and end up breaking my promise, you'll either receive the next update sometime mid-next week, or I'm dead. Good luck with that! ;)**

**Oh, I love this chapter. CLIMAX! :D**

**That was a lie. It's only the first half of the climax. You still don't know about the _other_ portion of this story. Unless, of course, you caught all of my hints, in which case, Bravo! ;D Enjoy...**

**henrie locker - You need Percabeth, I _have_ Percabeth. How about we share? ;)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Grrrrr, my weakness... No! :O But yes, Percy is awesome. I love your love of my story. It makes me happy. :) And my Cliffhanger torture will always be more powerful than your Annie torture. Mwahahahaha! :D**

**cecld16 - Hahahaha, I can tell that you're happy. It makes me happy that you're happy and that you love my story so much. I hope you like this chapter just as much as all the others. ;)**

**TheGreekMenace - Alright BOB. ;D I agree on the random Drakon part; I liked it too. It actually wasn't in the original plan for the chapter, but editing does wonders for making things not-boring. :) I hope that this chapter is just as amazing.**

**Maddie - Torture is in my job description. ;) Anyway, I'm glad that you enjoyed that itty-bitty bit of Percabeth. My specialty is putting in undertones and small portions, but I'm not always so hot at making it gooey and sappy and super-romantic. :( Anyway I hope that this turned out alright and that you enjoy the climax! ;D**

**Percabeth24 - Yes, the battle has begun...**

**(Sorry again for the scrolling. It was necessary.)**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - Hahahahahahaha! :D Ok, sorry, I think I just woke up my sister FourthWallBreaker. Now she definitely won't review... Oops.. Anyway, on to responses... Ha.. Hahahaha. Ok, sorry, I seriously can't stop laughing at your reviews. :) But awwwwwwe mid-flight? I'm so flattered. ;) Yes, these demigods are a bit clueless and suspicious. That's just how it goes. (They're so lost without Percy. Haha) And I love calling Octavian a Scarecrow. It's just his description. :P I also needed more character bonding, so the Piper thing was good for that. I really wanted Alabaster in there. ;D It just... Adds something to the chapter. And yes, Annabeth would absolutely pause to look at the architecture. She can't help it. I'm so flattered by my Minions. I don't deserve you guys. :) Hahaha. 'Be free Perseus! ...' You're so funny :D Gosh I will never stop laughing... Thanks so much for reviewing on the plane. You're an awesome Minion. ;)**

**ArcherGirl12 - Success! I am awesome... :D**

**Thank you to Pandy0615 for Following this story. :)**

**To all who didn't review, this is the Climax, guys. I just expect to hear what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Uncle Rick is an Uncle. I don't think I'll ever be an uncle. For genetic reasons. You get the gist of it.**

**Dedication: To Don't touch my Seaweed Brain who read my story mid-flight. I'm too flattered for this. I can't help it. ;P**

**Key:**

Annabeth (PLANE) - Actual Annabeth

**Annabeth** (BOLD) - Alternate Annabeth

** Don't mix them up.**

Chapter Fifteen

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

Being marched by an armed guard down a hallway lined with hundreds of angry-looking half-bloods and monsters when she had no weapon and absolutely no plan made Annabeth feel stupid. And stupidity was a quality children of Athena preferred never to consider.

It also described her behavior within the past few weeks absolutely perfectly.

Annabeth Chase was intuitive. She was the brilliant daughter of Athena that somehow found a way to always beat the odds and uncover the least obvious secrets in order to solve her problems. Now, for the first time in a long time - maybe even since she was twelve - Annabeth was wrong about something, and it was hitting her the hardest now that Percy wasn't around to steady her - both mentally and emotionally.

And then there was Perseus. The blonde demigod had already decided that this scenario was not going to be anything like it was with Luke. Luke and Percy had never been the same person, nor were their personalities even all that similar. Sure, during the Giant War she and Percy had discussed some of those types of issues, but her boyfriend would never join the enemy. Even if he disagreed with some of the things the gods had done, he was too loyal to his friends and family. The child of wisdom suspected that it was the same for Perseus. The only major difference was that he had grown up with loyalties to the Titans - his family.

Well, that and the fact that half of the time Cora was controlling him like a puppet on a string.

Annabeth mentally chastised herself. She should've realized it sooner. She had been too caught up in everything else to remember that this wasn't the son of Poseidon that she knew, and now she was going to pay for it. By Zeus, she hasn't even planned an escape route! What was wrong with her?

The blonde was jostled out of her thoughts as she was shoved roughly to the floor of a small room towards the end of the long black corridor. With her hands bound behind her back, Annabeth had to catch herself with her knees, almost crashing into the floor.

The gray eyed teen shifted he head, sending a cascade of curls swimming about her vision. She looked up to see Perseus standing in front of her, his eye burning with rage - the one emotion her boyfriend had never truly directed at her; it sent a burning, chilling feeling shivering down her spine. Off to the side, Cora stood, smirking in triumph.

There was a sound of metal on metal as Perseus unsheathed his sword and placed it under her chin, once again raising her eyes to meet his one visible orb. The son of the sea Titan pointed with his free hand towards the monitors. Other than one screen, which was shattered (Annabeth wouldn't have been surprised if that had something to do with her), all of the screens showed different angles of the outside of the base and some of the inner hallways. At first Annabeth didn't quite understand what she was seeing, but a rush of part-panic, part-relief filled her as she realized what was happening. It was all the girl could do to keep her ADHD reigned in and to remain still on the chilled control-room floor. There, on hundreds of little monitors, an army of demigods was waging a brutal war at the entrance to the compound. The son of Oceanus' cold, hard voice flooded her hearing. "I want you to watch what you're causing. I want you to count just how many of your little friends die."

A tidal wave erupted on at least ten of the screens, decimating a large portion of the wall and disintegrating an innumerable amount of monsters. The child of Athena felt a swell of unmeasurable pride and relief as a raven haired boy appeared, swinging a bronze sword through the crowd and parting it like the Red Sea. At his back stood a blonde-haired girl so strikingly familiar that Annabeth felt her breath catch. A conflict of emotions rose in her as she watched the battle rage on, but pushed them down for the time being.

"And," Perseus bent down by her ear, fluidly adjusting his sword's angle. She had forgotten, for a moment, that he was there. "I want you to watch as I kill him slowly and painfully."

"I'm not concerned," Annabeth snapped back, her tone hinting defiance. "But I think that you should be."

The demititan's eye flashed before he slipped on an unsettling grin. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Annabeth. I don't have anything to lose." He lifted her chin with his hand and stroked her cheek.

"_He does_."

The boy ran his fingers through her hair as she stiffened, observing her almost like a prize.

"Ethan," Perseus snapped, suddenly strict. "Stay with the prisoner and make sure she doesn't escape. I don't want anything to happen while I'm gone, understood?"

Through the corner of her eye, the demigod saw the son of Nemesis bite back a reply before grumbling a hate-filled "Yes, sir." The demititan commander knelt once more at her side and whispered in her ear, "You know the best part about this?" He brushed a stray curl away from her face. "I never would've even known he existed if you hadn't mentioned him on the day of your arrival."

The gray eyed girl felt bile rise in her throat and a painful squeezing in her gut as the door slammed closed and the enemy half-blood exited the room.

The sound of slow steps filled the control room as Cora leisurely made her way over to the blonde girl. Annabeth looked up at the daughter of Metis, hatred building in her gut.

"Don't blame him, Annabeth," The dark haired demititan smirked. "You _are_ the enemy, after all."

"I don't blame him." the half-blood spoke, forcing her voice to stay flat before darkening it. "I blame you."

"That's alright. Everyone has their faults."

"Why are you doing this?" Athena's daughter demanded. "Has he ever really been free-willed, or is his whole life just a game to you?"

"Oh, there was a time," The girl strolled around her, tapping the tip of her Drakon sword on the floor in thought. "But that was a long time ago. When he was twelve, he took a mission to Camp Half-Blood. After he returned, his father made sure that I ... took care of any smoldering remains of doubt in his mind that the Titans were the right side. That, I suppose, is the reason he's thinking more clearly now. You must remind him of his free will. Annoying how that works. But don't worry, he'll dispose of your Percy, and then we'll no longer have need of you."

Cora smiled - a cruel, sick smile. "I very much look forward to your execution."

Ethan stood up in the back of the room, and both girls turned in his direction. Annabeth had forgotten he was there.

"What are you two talking about?" The son of Nemesis glanced suspiciously between the two of them. "Something's wrong here. What's going on?"

Cora stepped forward and snapped, "Oh shut up and sit down you fool!"

The half-blood's eyes glazed over and he sat down on the floor, snapping his mouth shut.

_Like Charmspeak,_ the blonde thought, _Only much, much more powerful_.

"Don't you see, Annabeth," the demititan told her smugly, "Perseus is much more perceptive than all of those other demigods. He fights harder; he has to be kept under constant control."

The child of wisdom froze.

"Wait a minute, you just said demi-" There was a loud crashing sound as Cora fell back onto the control panel, knocking her head against one of the monitors. Annabeth watched as her sheath undid itself from the now-unconscious girl's waist and as it and the Drakon sword came floating toward her.

Mia took off the invisibility cap and placed it and the sword in front of Annabeth before moving to untie her.

"How did you -"

"I was outside of your room serving the guards lunch when Cora visited you to talk to you. I heard every word she said. Then I followed her to her room and stole back your invisibility hat. Easy as that."

The red head came around to the front. Annabeth rubbed her wrists.

"Thank you."

Mia blushed slightly in appreciation. "I am _not_ a helpless stooge."

"Hey!"

Behind them, Ethan had risen from his spot in the floor, shaking out of the last of Cora's spell. The daughter of Prometheus jolted her up by the arm before kicking out at him. Annabeth winced when she saw where the hit had landed.

Mia pulled the blonde haired half-blood quickly out of the room, calling out, "Sorry, Ethan!" and leaving the son is Nemesis groaning on the floor.

The daughter of Athena gripped the handle of her Drakon sword tightly.

The battle had only just begun.

Third Person

Percy's POV

Percy clambered over the rubble of black marble as he struggled to enter the complex through the surging swarm of monsters. To his left, **Annabeth **glanced behind, disintegrating a few more enemies with her celestial bronze blade. A tempest had risen up, raging around them, and thunder lit up the sky. The son of Poseidon gazed up at the darkening clouds; Jason was doing his job well.

"_Percy!_" **Annabeth** yelled over the roaring wind and the clash of metal. The demigod felt her grip on his arm, pulling him out of his revere. "Come on!"

They crossed the threshold and pressed themselves into the side of the decimated wall. A few half-bloods eyed them darkly, but no one stopped, the army charging instead right past them to the battle outside. As the pair stumbled past the gap and through the crowd, the rest of the demititan army mimicked the others. The enemy half-bloods cleared a path, moving past him and **Annabeth** to the fight beyond. They had been warned, Percy realized. Someone had already selected them as prey, and neither he nor the blonde beside him had any problem guessing exactly whom it was.

It didn't take long to realize that the compound was almost entirely deserted. The daughter of wisdom stepped cautiously beside her green eyed comrade as they advanced down the eery black hallway. To the left of the gap in the wall there shown no light - nothing to guide their way or to warn them of tricks and traps. But to the right... A glowing green torch appeared every few yards, like a trail of breadcrumbs. Except that this trail wouldn't lead them _out_ of the dark forest; it would only take them further in.

***Line Break***

It didn't take long to find him.

He stood on the other side of the Pavilion, adjacent to the arch they had just entered through. His back was turned, his hands clasped in front - most likely gripping his sword. And as **Annabeth** stiffened beside him, Percy had no remaining doubt of who this was.

Perseus stood, gazing out at where the storm met the ocean. Between them lay an endless hallway of pitch black pillars and a sea of abandoned, lifeless tents.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" rose a voice, just loud enough to hear over the whipping wind. A voice that sent a terrifying chill through the son of Poseidon - a feeling of pure _wrongness_ - an unsettling déjà-voo that set his stomach turning. A voice that gave him a jolt as he realized it sounded exactly like his own. The one-eyed half-blood turned and rested his heartless green gaze on **Annabeth**.

"As I recall, you used to think so as well."

Percy saw the blonde commander swallow, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the hilt of her dagger.

"I did used to think the ocean was beautiful." she almost whispered, the wind actually helping to magnify her voice, carrying it across the open pavilion. "Until your father came and took that joy away from me."

Her gray eyes met his one orb across the way. "Or maybe I never had it in the first place."

Percy watched the unmoving boy before them, unable to read the mixing emotions in his green eye. It seemed almost as if something were preventing it from showing - like the wind and the sea fighting for control.

Perseus moved across the enclosed area, his sword now gripped in his right hand.

"My fight isn't with you, Chase. Not this time." His voice hinted a warning, but it didn't sound completely threatening. The sea child caught the despair in his tone - the despairing of friend against friend. "You should go."

**Annabeth** straitened her shoulders, steeling her stance. "You're not going to do this, Perseus. We're here to stop you - the both of us. And I'm not leaving until the job's done."

His expression twisted, part mocking and part sour. "You mean like last time?" he asked, stepping closer. "So I'm going to lose another eye; is that it?" Percy looked between them and spoke before the girl could respond.

"You'll lose a lot more than that if you don't tell us where Annabeth is."

The son of Oceanus finally ripped his gaze from the blonde before him. His expression darkened and his eyes narrowed. Then, suddenly his face was crossed be a sick, twisted smile. Hades, he looked _evil_.

"How about I send her your regards after I kill you?"

"Or," Percy spoke, his own eyes narrowing. "How about I send her yours?"

Perseus let out a laugh - a heavy, dark laugh that didn't belong on his tongue. The demititan raised his head to the blackened sky, holding out his hands for show.

"You really don't get it, do you?" the one-eyed half-blood asked as he took a slow step forward, his own sword swinging in his hands - a melding of both bronze and steel. He looked into his double's eyes and chuckled under his breath.

"She really didn't tell you, did she?"

Percy's chest froze up and he looked over at the girl beside him. **Annabeth** was looking away.

"Oh, come on, **Annabeth**." Perseus spoke mockingly, "We both know you're smarter than that. You knew what was going to happen."

"What's he talking about?" Percy asked.

"I-" Athena's daughter looked at him helplessly. "I thought-"

"You thought that with the both of you it would make a difference." The enemy Commander laughed. "What is this? Were you planning on _saving_ me?! From what, _myself_?! Ha! Gods, **Annabeth**, some Wise Girl you are."

The girl flinched away from him as he spat out the nickname. Percy's face glowed red as a protective anger welled up in him.

"Leave her alone!"

The son of Oceanus glared at him, brow furrowed. If Percy hadn't known that the boy was just angry, he might've thought that the enemy looked almost... Jealous.

"You're still protecting her even though she didn't warn you."

"Warn me about _what_?!" the son of Poseidon exclaimed, tired of playing mind games.

"You can't kill me, Percy," the demititan told his double, now only two feet in front of him. "We're one in the same, you and I. We _think_ the same way, we _walk_ the same way, we _talk_ the same way, we _fight_ the same way. Different scenario, same person. The only reason _I_ can kill _you_ is because I have something that you want. Either you give in, or she dies as well."

The son of Poseidon tightened his fist on his sword hilt and grit his teeth, looking away. This boy knew him inside and out, and he also knew that Percy couldn't win.

"You can't beat me, Percy." the black haired enemy whispered in his ear again, laughing smugly.

"No," came a voice from out of nowhere. "But I can."

The next second, the demititan commander was on the floor, knocked over by an invisible force. **Annabeth** was on top of him in the same moment, her knee on his chest and her knife held loosely at his throat. The blonde still looked shaky, and her eyes were tinged with red, but she had a fierce determination burning in them as well.

Perseus probably could have gotten free in a heartbeat, his sword still in his hand and his powers at his disposal, but both he and **Annabeth** were focused fully on the now not-so-invisible force before them.

Annabeth Chase stood in all her glory, holding a battered New York Yankee's cap and her long, white Drakon sword. She was staring strait at Percy, and by gods was she ever beautiful, even when she was frowning.

The daughter of Athena folded her arms and glared at him in annoyance.

"It took you long enough, Seaweed Brain. I was beginning to wonder if _I_ was going to have to rescue _you_. And look where we are now."

Even through her false annoyance, Annabeth's voice was slightly strained. She had something she wanted to tell him; Percy was sure of it. But not in front of their present company. The black haired teen let a smile slip onto his face and let out a laugh, suddenly at ease. "And here I thought that you _weren't_ going to make things easy for me."

The gray eyed half-blood's shoulders relaxed as if she'd just been released from holding the weight of the sky. She let a weary smile slip onto her face; Annabeth dropped her weapons and closed the gap between herself and her boyfriend. Percy caught her in his arms and breathed in the familiar scent of lemons. Even in an Alternate World, his Wise Girl still used lemon shampoo. Her hands twisted into his messy black hair, and, as their lips met, Percy felt himself floating off into a familiar, comforting warmth.

_"By Kronos-"_

_"Holy Zeus-"_

The spell was broken, and Percy and Annabeth were startled back into reality. Perseus had somehow gotten out from under **Annabeth**, but the demititan looked like he was about to fall over again, his face pale and bloodless. **Annabeth** stood beside him, not seeming to notice her close proximity to her mortal enemy. Both wore looks of absolute, heart-stopping shock.

After a moment, the Athenian Commander shook her head and blinked, taking a breath before turning and jamming the butt of her knife against the dumb-founded demititan's head. Perseus was sent crumpling to the floor for the second time in the last five minutes. After taking another shaky breath, **Annabeth** hauled him over towards the nearest hallway closet. Percy's girlfriend rushed past to help her. The two of them pushed the unconscious son of the sea Titan in, closing and locking the door behind. The identical girls shared a look, and **Annabeth** swallowed, her eyes still red.

"Umm, ah... Thanks." She swallowed again, looking away from the green eyed boy's girlfriend. "For, you know, the- the diversion."

Percy watched as his Wise Girl gripped her counterpart's shoulder before pulling her up from the ground. The two girls walked past Percy, neither of them glancing in his direction.

***Line Break***

Outside was absolute chaos. Motionless demigods and demititans were strewn across the once bright, grassy fields. The scattered remains of monsters whirled around in the violent wind. Children of Apollo rushed around, tending to the injured. But even with all of the fallen, the battle raged on. Although Oceanus himself hadn't appeared on the battlefield, it was obvious that he had stocked up on quite a large amount of allies. The sea Titan had sent his forces out to fight, but apparently Oceanus didn't think that the battle was actually important enough to contribute to.

Jason surged by on a current of wind, sending sparks and bolts flying at the enemy.

"The Romans are here, too?" Annabeth asked him as she watched the son of Jupiter sail by. He glanced at them and waved distractedly before turning back to the battle. "Yeah," Percy answered, feeling a slight pang as he trained his eyes on his cousin. "Look, Annabeth, there are a lot of things you've missed. We,.. We need to talk."

They shared a look, and the son of Poseidon knew he wasn't the only one with things left unsaid.

The pair was jerked back to reality when they noticed **Annabeth** standing awkwardly beside them.

"Come on," Percy's girlfriend pulled him towards the armed mob, nodding to her copy.

"Annabeth!"

A girl with frizzy red-brown hair ran up from the on-going fight. She stopped short when she saw Percy.

"This," The girl hesitated. "This is him?"

"Yes," the daughter of Athena replied, her hand fitting into his. "Don't worry, he probably won't bite." The two turned in his direction.

"Percy, this is Mia, daughter of Prometheus. She helped me get out of the compound; she's on our side." The red-head's eyes suddenly widened. She pushed the couple aside and stabbed at the creature behind them, turning it to dust.

The sea child looked up at her from the dirt and laughed. "I'll say."

Clarisse rushed by, pressing a hellhound back with her electric spear. "Come on, Fishface, get moving!" she yelled sideways through gritted teeth. "There's a war going on here!"

"Right," Percy replied, pulling Riptide free. He and Annabeth pressed back-to-back into the crowd.

***Line Break***

The demigod didn't know how long they had been fighting before he heard the horns. The hundreds of monsters and half-bloods all froze as the tone sounded across the carnage.

Then the arrows started flying.

Percy realized what was happening when he saw the first wolf. It was followed by flashes of silver, and the next thing he knew, most of the monsters were gone. Artemis herself was standing before him, but the sea child wasn't shocked be the presence of the goddess. It was the Lieutenant standing next to her that sent a tingling sensation rolling down his spine.

"Bianca Di Angelo," **Annabeth** spoke, graciously extending her hand to shake. Bianca didn't respond; she was too busy glaring at Percy - an intense hate that he had never before seen her direct at anyone.

"It is proper," the huntress spoke through gritted teeth, "to _bow_ to a goddess."

The son of Poseidon could sense everyone else kneeling, except, surprisingly, Annabeth. The two of them stayed standing, facing the moon goddess together.

"I ought to turn you into a jackalope for what you've done," the being told him, her voice cold and unforgiving. "But you're wanted on Olympus." Her gaze shifted to **Annabeth**.

"All three of you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, so obviously I'm not dead.**

**Helerine - I'm super glad that you're hooked. ;) As for good writing, I'm still working on that...**

**henrie locker - Right. These three are in for a wild ride and the Olympians are just going to have to deal with it. ;)**

**cecld16 - Yeah, I get it, but face it: You're reading about a not-so-pleasant alternate universe. Of course you're not going to like everything involved with it. Nico has pretty much always been tied with Percy as my favorite character. I wouldn't kill him _or_ Thalia off unless I thought it benefitted the story and helped to get my main point across. Don't worry. Just because an author writes something depressing or angering doesn't mean that they have to like it.**

**Hibernia12 - Mwahaha. Yes, cliffy. Welcome to my realm of evil genious. ;)**

**Guest - I'm glad. I can't wait either! :D**

**Maddie - So it's funny, but it's killing you... Perfect! You flatter me too much for my own good, but I love you for it. ;D Enjoy!**

**Percabeth24 - I know, right. When I plan a story I always have to parts: The beginning and the Climax. The reunion scene is one of the first scenes that I came up with. ;) And yes, it's _very _nice to have them back together. :D Enjoy!**

**I'm so glad you liked Mia. And I'm super glad that you thought the kiss moment was sweet and funny. :D I guess that I fulfilled my goal with that part. Have fun with this chapter. It's ... Interesting... ;D**

**TheGreekMenace - Ok. Wow. I'm so glad that you could find inspiration because of me! :D And you think I'm amazing! Wow! :) I loved your little quips between Zeus, Percy, and Poseidon. They were so funny! :) Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit of a downer, sooo... Yeah, good luck with that.**

**ChocolateWriter - Yes, that's what happened to poor Bianca. She hates Perseus like everyone else (except for 'Annabeth').**

**seaweedbrainlover1117 - Well, she knows that he's not Perseus, but two of them must mean bad news, right? So, she thinks he's just as bad. As for Perseus and Annabeth BOLD getting together... They have to survive this chapter before I can even let you _think _about that. Good luck! ;D**

**ArcherGirl12 - So do I. It's like a second part of me. ;) I hope you enjoy. :)**

**Thanks to Limpet lamppost, to Madnerdwithabox, to Lyro Alitox, to Awesome511, and to mrobi98 for Following and/or Favoriting my story. :)**

**To all who haven't been reviewing, please do this chapter. I'd love to hear all you have to say on it. It's a huge change in everything you thought you knew...**

**Disclaimer: Rick may own 'em, but this plot twist is all mine..**

**Dedication: To all of you. I hope that you enjoy the second part of the climax. ;)**

Chapter Sixteen

Third Person

Annabeth's POV

Olympus was solemn and dark and stoic - three word that spoke so little and yet so much. Artemis had transported the three of them onto the path leading up to the mountain before abandoning the group to their fate. As the half-bloods passed along the cobble-stones, minor gods shot them wary, disapproving looks, and nymphs scurried off in fright. Annabeth noticed some harsh looks pointed directly at Percy and once again slipped her hand into his, feeling a bit guilty as she allowed her counterpart to drift awkwardly behind.

They stood together gazing up at the large doors and took a collective breath, pushing into the Throne Room of the gods. By **Annabeth's** reaction, she had never before set foot on Olympus in all her life.

The three demigods stared up at the full council, and the council stared right back.

"So, the rumors are true," Hephaestus spoke, smoke billowing up from his beard.

"Why do you not bow to your gods?" Hera inquired sharply, peering down at the group of three. "We could kill you in an instant for such disrespect - such _mockery_."

"You would be an expert on mockery, wouldn't you." her boyfriend mumbled. Before the daughter of Athena could respond, Percy stepped forward. She saw him clench his jaw, preparing to speak to the cow-witch with as much respect as he could possibly stomach.

"With all due respect, you're not our gods. And, considering the fact that you're likely going to kill us anyway, you might have even taken a bow as an insult."

Ares sat forward in his throne and looked up at Zeus, pulling out his spear. "Can I kill them now? I haven't had a good death in ages."

"Put your weapon away, Ares." Athena snapped, her gray eyes piercing. "No one will be killing me daughter."

The goddess looked over at them, and Annabeth felt a mix of chills and warmth spread through her as her almost-mother analyzed her.

"_Either_ of them."

"Yes, well," Zeus interrupted stiffly, "I would like to know why _your daughter_ isn't showing proper respect in my Throne Room."

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other and the blonde watched as her double stepped forward and steeled herself.

"My fatal flaw is hubris," she started off, taking a deep breath before facing the king of the gods - staring him right in the eye. "I have a stubborn sense of pride from my mother's side of the family. The very same trait which she inherited from _you_." The lord of the skies bristled at the comment. "And because of this," She took another breath and gazed around Throne Room at each of the gods.

"Because of this, I only give respect to those who deserve it."

The Hall of the gods erupted into shouting, silenced only by Athena. The goddess turned to her daughter.

"Go on, my dear."

"You weren't there from the very beginning of this war. All of you were too busy worrying that Typhon would rise and destroy us when there was already a threat at large. When the storm giant stayed dormant, you sat up here _not_ answering our prayers and not sending us help." **Annabeth** stared again at each of the gods before taking another breath and letting out a sigh. "If anyone deserves respect, it's these two."

She turned to Percy and Annabeth.

"I owe them much today, for aiding me in helping to see the truth."

"HE IS A SON OF OCEANUS!" Zeus thundered, infuriated.

"Um, actually, no." Percy spoke besides her, raising his hand a little bit. "My dad's Poseidon."

The sea god snapped his head in their direction at the sound of his name. His mouth hung open as though he were about to speak, emotions trading their way across his expression.

Zeus stood up. "Are you insinuating-"

"I insinuate nothing!" Percy intoned louder. "I swear it upon the River Styx that my father is Poseidon, god of the sea, earth shaker, and father of horses."

The Throne Room, for the first time in many, many millennia, went quiet.

Athena slipped off her throne, shrinking down to size, and approached them slowly. She stood in front of Annabeth's boyfriend, examining him slowly. The goddess circled him.

"Interesting. You say that you're a son of Poseidon?"

The raven haired teen blinked at her. "Um, yes ... Ma'am."

"Well, you haven't insulted me yet, but I suppose a demititan would've been all the more hasty to do so. You obviously weren't raised by your father. Your mother, more likely. Poseidon would _never_ have taught you to hold any kind of respect for _me_. But I'm afraid that this is all quite impossible."

"What do you mean?" his girlfriend spoke up.

"Well, I'm afraid that when dealing with alternate dimensions, while circumstances may change, heritage does not. Two children with the exact same tendencies, appearance, and genetic code simply put _cannot_ have different parents, even when crossing worlds."

**Annabeth** took in a sharp breath, stumbling back. "But that would mean- ... Oh, gods, I have to go!"

The sound of running echoed down the marble hall as she took off.

"Where is she going?!" Zeus roared, rising from his chair. "This meeting is not yet over! No one has been dismissed!"

Annabeth rushed to the exit, Percy quickly in tow. A pegasus soared overhead and quickly out of sight.

"She's gone," the daughter of Athena declared. She turned around, thinking quickly.

"Lady Athena, what is the recent history between Oceanus and Poseidon?"

The goddess eyed her somewhat wearily, as if expecting her to go running off as well. She sighed before speaking. "Poseidon had a son some years ago - about the age of Oceanus' own boy. On the night of the boy's birth - before Poseidon had even arrived - Oceanus appeared, killing both the boy and his mother and destroying the whole building, burying everyone inside underneath the rubble. Poseidon never even knew the boy's name."

"Did they find the body?" Annabeth asked hurriedly. "The body of the little boy - did they find it?"

The goddess's eyes shone with an unreadable emotion. "They never knew for sure. There were plenty of mortal newborns who perished there as well."

Annabeth's mind was running a mile a minute. She leaned against a pillar for support, sharing a look with her now-pale boyfriend.

"Lady Athena," Percy spoke, his tone hesitant and shaky. "Please tell us. Has your daughter ever heard that story before?"

The child of wisdom looked up into the goddess's eyes; she already knew the answer.

"By the Fates," Annabeth whispered. "I think I know where she's gone."

Third Person

Perseus' POV

Perseus knew that something was wrong when he woke up locked in a dark closet with a booming headache.

Oh, yeah. Something was definitely very, very wrong.

The ebony haired boy scrambled to his feet, almost tripping on an empty bucket. He bashed his side against the door, and it flew open, sending the boy sprawling on the floor outside.

Ethan Nakamura stood above his Commander, his arms folded. Behind him stood the pitiful remains of the Demititan army. Barely any half-bloods had been left alive, and there were even fewer monsters.

The son of Nemesis kicked him hard in the side.

"Get up you useless scum."

Perseus blinked, his headache coming back. He clutched his side where Ethan had nailed him with his foot.

"I said get up!"

The half-blood struggled to his feet, staring at the floor. He knew what was coming next.

"Don't hold your breath." the older boy snarled. "Your father wants to see you."

***Line Break***

Perseus' chest clenched up as he stared at the entrance to his father's chambers. The doors were already open, and that was never a good sign.

The boy entered hesitantly, his breaths shaky and uneven. He knelt before his father's throne, bowing his head down low.

"Fath-"

"You have failed me."

The voice was bitter and harsh. Perseus' head shot up, his one eye widening.

"W-What?"

"You heard me you sniveling little brat."

The Titan rose from his throne.

"I knew that I should've killed you the first moment I laid eyes on you, but controlling the prophecy was just too tempting. Even Kronos was oblivious to all that was going on. I thought it would be more fun to play a little game with you instead. Now I see that I was wrong."

The boy scrambled back as Oceanus descended the shadowed steps leading to his throne. In the lighting, Perseus could see him holding a long shaft with a deadly point - a spear.

"Father, wh-what-"

"I AM NOT YOUR FATHER, YOU PATHETIC DEMIGOD!"

Silence encompassed the room, and the blacked haired boy felt like he was suddenly choking.

"Poseidon didn't kill your mother. No, he would not have brought such a demise upon his own lover. _I_ murdered the wench and stole you away."

The half-blood's green eye widened even further. Perseus would've reacted out of fury if he wasn't already so terrified.

"No," he whispered, backing himself away from the sea Titan. He felt his back touch the hard surface of the black marble wall. "No! You- You're lying!"

"Oh, am I? Do you see this spear, son of Poseidon? It is tipped with the poisonous venom of my precious pet, and you shall feel its bite!"

Oceanus raised the weapon overhead, preparing to deliver the blow.

"No!"

Perseus looked up to see a figure shimmering into existence, arms raised before her in an attempt to deflect the blow. He watched at the spear penetrated the skin near her left shoulder, and as the girl crumpled to the ground.

Oceanus backed up in a dismayed surprise before his astonishment turned to anger.

"Insolent daughter of Athena!"

Perseus lunged forward and pulled the girl into his arms, protecting her from the Titan above.

"**Annabeth**!" he yelled, his voice breaking. His chest hurt and he wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. Perseus shook her, desperate for a sign of life. "**Annabeth**! Stay with me!"

The blonde haired girl fought, fluttering her eyelids open. She gave him a small, pained smile.

"It- It's good to have you back- Seaweed Brain."

She stiffened before falling limp against him.

"I knew it was a bad idea, allowing you to go to that camp." the sea Titan snarked. "You become too emotionally attached to things; even Cora couldn't keep you under her control. But no matter. Now I have the chance to kill you _both_!"

"No you don't!" a voice boomed across the chamber. A hand of water secured itself around Oceanus' spear and wrenched it from his grip.

Poseidon stood with his trident in hand and a dead snake in the next. He tossed the vile creature down before its master.

"Come on," someone spoke from beside Perseus. Hands gripped his own, pulling him upwards and lifting him out of his stupor. - Hands belonging to the girl who he had held captive for the past few weeks. She was wearing an orange 'Camp Half-Blood' shirt. The image was like a bullet strait to the heart. Had she been wearing that before?

Through the corner of his eye, the half-blood saw Percy kneeling down to pick up the unconscious girl from the floor, carrying her in his arms. Perseus almost strained back towards her, but Annabeth only pulled him father forwards.

"It doesn't look good," Perseus heard his double tell the blonde, his panicked gaze fogging the words. "We have to get her out of here."

"He's not doing so well, either."

It took the boy a moment to realize she was talking about him.

The rest all bled together.

Through the sounds of the fight and the general confusion of the situation, time seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. First he was being pulled forward, and then there was a stern-looking woman with gray eyes. Someone was covering his eyes with their hand, and then there was a flash, and then suddenly they were in a room he didn't recognize, leading out into a hallway he had never seen before.

That was when he collapsed.

**Mwahaha, Mwahahaha, MWAHAHAHAHA! I am so evil... :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello Minions, so I'm working hard to finish up this story. There aren't going to be may happy moments in this chapter. These people are war-torn and broken up and distressed. I apologize in advance for my depressing chapter, but it needed to be done. Enjoy! :)**

**ChocolateWriter - Yes, Persabeth is beginning to show. ;D And I'm super glad that you did love the plot twist. Oceanus is pretty much the whole reason everything went wrong in this world. That deserved some recognition.**

**Wolves in winter - Hahaha ;) Very funny. Thank you for following my pointless instructions. But, if you're up for it, I would like to hear what you think of the story. ;)**

**Guest (the first one. There were maybe three of you, sooo...) - Yes, you reviewed. :) Thank you for your gesture of kindness. I do want to hear what all of you think, so if you're up for it, please do. I always love to hear from my minions. :D**

**Guest - Yes, the spear wound is indeed very much like the wound Annabeth took for Percy during the Titan War. Good for catching the symbolism! Everything is slowly falling into place and becoming what it should have been before. :)**

**Willakarra - You're right, I admit it. Take me away, officer! But I'm warning you: I won't be able to update from jail... Enjoy the chapter. ;D**

**Maddie - I do love to torture you. But I also bring relief... Eventually. ;) And yes, Alternate Percabeth is blooming, slowly but surely. I hope that you enjoy the chapter! :D**

**ArcherGirl12 - Yes, I can be confusing, can't I? If you need to ask a question, please do. I'll answer it as best I can.**

**Hibernia12 - I know, I was mean. But cliffhangers are so fun! :D Here's your update, so there you go! ;)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Yes, it was a kind of replay of where Annabeth took the knife for Percy. There's symbolism for you: everything is falling back into place where it should've been originally. And thank you for your lovely complements on my chapter. Mia and Cora are still demititans. And I'm glad that you loved the plot twist. (So did I.) :D Read on and Enjoy!**

**Guest (You asked the same question as a. Earlier guest. I'd love it if you guys gave yourself a names so that I don't have to keep mixing you up.)**

**Thanks to Willakarra, to Just-AWESOME-old-me, and to the typewrited for Following and/or Favoriting me and/or my story.**

**To those who didn't review, please do. I love to hear your opinions. It helps me to write better for the future. :)**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan gets paid for this. Haha, do I ever wish... ;) (Your Minion love and obedience is worth more than his paycheck.) But seriously, he's getting _paid_.**

**Dedication: To all of you. Your support and excitement over my story keeps me inspired and writing. :)**

Chapter Seventeen

Third Person

'**Annabeth's** POV

Perseus spent three days in a cell before **Annabeth** finally got wind of it, after which a girl who hadn't been out of bed for three days suddenly disappeared from the hospital wing. After twenty minutes of trying - and failing - to get her _back_ into the hospital wing, the other demigods called in Clarisse, who took one look at the still-recovering daughter of Athena and told the others to bug off. For this, **Annabeth** was grateful. The daughter of Ares then kindly threatened the concerned half-bloods into shutting off all recording devices in Perseus' cell, and **Annabeth** was admitted in.

He looked terrible.

Having eaten little and spoken none during his three days of imprisonment, the 'enemy' half-blood looked hollow and useless. He sat with his arms folded loosely over his knees, staring at the ceiling with his one green eye. It was the same position which he had held for nearly 72 hours strait. And for **Annabeth** and **Annabeth** alone he uttered the first words he had spoken in days.

"Why did you save me?"

The blonde stared at him, and her heart almost broke. "Perseus-"

"No." His voice was hoarse, but she could still hear the forcefulness behind it. And the desperation. The dark haired demigod moved his head to face her, his eye shining with fear.

"I want to know why. Did- Did thou do it to torture me? So that I would have to live knowing I was fighting on the wrong side? So that I would suffer through finding out that I had killed two of my cousins and who-knows-else? Is that the point of this? 'Cause you're doing a pretty darn good job at it if it is."

"Perseus, stop!"

"What," He stood up and stepped out toward her, fuming now. The sound of mettle rattled throughout the cell as his chains held him back from coming any farther. "So you can fill my head with lies just like everyone else I've ever known? - Control me like Cora did? Like my fath-"

The boy froze, tasting the word that had almost come out of his mouth. His legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor, suddenly unable to breath right.

**Annabeth** approached him, feeling an ache in her chest that wasn't from the poison. She knelt beside him and took his hand. He pulled away, pressing his arms to himself.

"Perseus." she whispered.

"I don't even know what I am anymore, **Annabeth**." he spoke, his voice dangerously quiet. He avoided her gaze. "I don't even know if my _thoughts_ are my own. If they ever were."

A few weeks ago, just hearing Perseus' voice would've made **Annabeth** angry. The thing was, it wouldn't have been because of the war or because of her memories of fallen friends and family. No, **Annabeth Chase **had her own, more personal matters to settle, and it all boiled down to when she was twelve years old. She had been lied to and betrayed and deceived, but the blonde had recently come to realize that so had he. And that maybe the innocent boy she had met when she was twelve hadn't been a lie after all, but a glimpse at someone behind the lies. With the help of Percy, the gray eyed child of wisdom had learned to let go, and now she would have to teach Perseus the same thing.

"Perseus," **Annabeth** spoke again, and this time he looked up at her. The son of Poseidon's sea green eye shown with desperation and confusion. His face burned red as he turned away again in embarrassment.

"Why did you save me, **Annabeth**?" he asked again, his tone defeated and lost.

"Because," she told him, biting her lip in a sudden fight to hold back the tears. "I wanted my Seaweed Brain back so that he could save me, too."

Third Person

Percy's POV

The sound of a door slamming redirected Percy and Annabeth's attentions to the steaming son of Apollo standing at the entrance to the sea child's temporary room.

Will Solace pointed an accusing finger in the black haired half-blood's direction. "This is all your fault."

"Will?" Annabeth asked, standing up beside her boyfriend. Percy just stared at the blond boy; he knew what was coming.

"I was right to have a bad feeling about you when you appeared here. Ever since you arrived in our base, **Annabeth's** been acting differently. Then this other girl shows up, and it only gets worse. I don't know what ideas you've been putting into her head, but whatever they are, the rest of us don't like them."

The boy's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists even tighter.

"Do you know where **Annabeth** is right now, Jackson? She's alone in a cell with a demititan scumbag. _My_ patient - who is still recovering from the venom running through her, mind you - is out of bed and alone, unsupervised with her mortal enemy!"

"Demititan?" Mia's head popped up from behind the other side of the bed . "What do you mean?"

"What is _she_ doing here?" Will asked in exasperation. "She should be locked up, too!"

"Hey!" Annabeth spoke, stepping forward. "That girl saved my life. She doesn't deserve to be locked up any more than you do."

The sun child faced toward her, his gaze turning icy.

"Look here, your royal majesty. You may _look_ like our leader, but you're not in charge here. None of you has or ever will have any power in this base, understand?"

"Wait wait wait!" Mia said again, interrupting the brewing argument between them. "He said that Perseus was a demititan. You really haven't told them?"

"Told us _what_?" Will asked frustratedly. "What aren't you telling me?!"

"Your mortal enemy isn't a son of Oceanus." Percy said, speaking for the first time. "He's a son of Poseidon."

***Line Break***

Before the day was even halfway over, word had gotten around about Poseidon's son. **Annabeth **- before being dragged off by the children of Apollo - had ordered that either Perseus be released or she wouldn't accept any more treatment. The Aphrodite girls had jumped on him like Piranhas. After hearing about his father, they had immediately disregarded how many nails they'd chipped fighting his army and instead proceeded to fawn over him. Percy almost felt sorry for the guy, but he guessed that it was better than having the whole demigod army hate your guts.

Then, of course, there was Octavian who was being a whiny, biased twit. But, then again, Octavian was always a whiny biased twit, even in Percy's world.

For the son of the sea god, his day turned out to be pretty normal. He showed Annabeth and Mia around the base, stopped about thirty times to explain why it was not necessary to kill the daughter of Prometheus, and then caught up with Annabeth in a spare room. All in all, his day was relatively uneventful.

Well, that is until Leo Valdez opened up the door to the spare room - which was apparently his workshop - and caught them making out. That caused a bit of a stir in the crowd outside. There went _that_ secret, although Percy supposed that it was bound to come out sometime. Plus, he thought he saw the Latino boy finally actually smile, and that made it all worth the hassle.

At the end of the day, the half-blood finally went to visit **Annabeth**. After a brief conversation on the difference between realities (and on hormones) conducted by his girlfriend, she finally let him go alone.

**Annabeth Chase** was sitting upright in her hospital bed, her right wrist handcuffed to its side. She looked up as Percy entered and gave him a small, sheepish smile. He smiled right back.

"So," the son of Poseidon began, grinning, "I heard about your little escapade earlier."

The blonde let out a small, dry laugh before looking down and fiddling with her fingers. The boy's expression grew serious and he moved to sit down on the bed in front of her. The raven haired demigod cupped his hand over her's, stopping her fingers from their incessant twitching. She looked up at him and blinked hard, her eyes misting.

"I had to see him." the girl's silence broke, the words fumbling out of her throat. "I just- I couldn't-" Her breath hitched and **Annabeth** covered her face with her hands. Percy shifted forward and, wrapping his arms around to hold her.

"Why did it have to happen this way?" the blonde asked him, choking through oncoming tears. "Why couldn't we be like you?"

The green eyed half-blood stared at her and then down at the girl wrapped in his arms. She had finally shattered. After all this time of war, her final breaking point had been her mortal enemy losing all hope. The enemy she had thought that she hated - at least, that was what she'd told herself and others.

"Annabeth and I... Things are never easy for demigods, and especially not for us, but we always help each other pull through. Your Titan War may have lasted longer than ours, and your Perseus might have come from a different background, but now you two have to do the same thing." Athena's daughter didn't responder. She was staring blankly at her hands. Percy took them again and lowered them the the bed. He squeezed her wrists and she looked up.

"Believe it or not, he needs you just as much as you need him."

There was a moment of silence.

"I haven't told him yet."

"What?" the sea child asked, taken aback.

"The trials," **Annabeth** stated. "I haven't told him about them yet. I'm too afraid...

"That he'll do something drastic." Percy finished for her, realization sinking like a rock I to the pit of his stomach. The gray eyed girl nodded. She took a shaky breath and he waited a moment for her to speak.

The child of wisdom let out a laugh, drying her eyes. "It's funny. A week ago, I hated your guts, and maybe thought that I hated his, too. Now look at me. I'm turning into a sentimental Aphrodite girl." She looked up again. "Annabeth - I mean _your_ Annabeth - came and talked to me earlier. She told me about what happened with Cora and Perseus. The council's been so hasty in getting the trials finished that they haven't gotten all of the facts. The gods just think that she's another one of the leading demititans. She was banished to Alaska like Ethan and most of the others who were picked up during your last raid to get Perseus out."

Her hands tightened into fists, and Percy pulled his away, watching her anger slowly surface.

"She should've been executed for what she's done. Half of our parents don't even know what Cora did to Perseus, and Zeus isn't about to give him a second chance."

The black haired boy thought for a moment.

"I'll talk to Perseus." he told **Annabeth**. "He's going to find out about the trials sometime, so why not from himself. We'll tell Poseidon about it and see if there's anything we can do."

He stood up without waiting for an answer, stopping at the door. The half-blood's eyes landed on the handcuffs linking the blonde to the bed.

"We'll break you out of here, too." Percy spoke. She nodded, a fraction of a smile finding it's way onto her face. "I promise that. But you've got to heal, or else Will's going to tear somebody's head off, and it's probably going to be mine."

He left the faint sound of **Annabeth's **light laughter behind, smiling to himself as well. The demigod set out in search of

Perseus.

It was time to find his double.

**There you go. I hope I didn't drive you away with my depressing aura.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I like this chapter. I've decided that it makes me happy. ;)**

**ArcherGirl12 - Hahaha. ;D I will. I never want to stop. :)**

**Maddie - Yeah, sorry. I'm cliffhanger happy. I got high off of writing. Pen ink and paper are addicting. ;)**

**Just-AWESOME-old-me - Mindless babbling is the best kind. ;) I'm thankful that you don't consider my story a lost cause, and I'm glad you caught on to Perseus' heritage. I put some hints in there, but not everybody caught them. So congrats! You win the prize for being perceptive. ;D And thank you so much for reviewing; I enjoyed hearing what you had to say. :)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - I know, but there has to be some form of punishment for bad people, and they think that Perseus is a bad person. And yes, I liked the Leo moment too. :)**

**Wolves in winter - Thank you. :) I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying my story. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, too. ;)**

**ChocolateWriter - Yes, Percabeth. ;) And I agree about Drew. That girl has issues.**

**TheGreekMenace - Hahaha. I'll see what I can do...**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - Actually, I was recently obsessed with the song Pompeii. It's one of my favorites. ;D I'm really happy that you like how I describe Percy and how he's feeling. ;) And yeah, sorry, but they're at Camp Half-Blood. Um, Abby, I think the high possibility of dying might just repel people from coming to New York... Haha. ;D I love your reaction to Aphrodite. And yes, you can ship both the Percabeths. :) OK, you're stressing out and it's hilarious. :D And no, I created Cora in my own. I even had the name picked out before it came up in OUAT. She started out minor and just kind of developed from there... My own fandom? Not quite yet. I have to write a real book first. :) I read the part about Octavian to my family, and my mom immediately responded with: I agree. No one would miss him. (My whole family is madly in love with the Percy Jackson series. My sibs and I got my parents sucked into it, too.) Yeah, sorry about Perseus being so evil. :( We all hate Cora. And no, Bianca is just Artemis' Lieutenant. And yes, he's a son of Poseidon. Mwahahahaha...**

**Hibernia12 - Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy! ;D**

**Willakarra - First off, the grammar wasn't wrong, it was correct. Thank you for attempting to help, though. As for who is who, I had a 'Key' written up in the author's note of a previous chapter, but yes you are correct. I hope that you enjoy! ;D**

**shayshayplaygma - Thank you. ;) I'm glad you liked it.**

**Thank you to Just-AWESOME-old-me, to Corin Wolfkin, and to koolcat857 for Following and/or Favoriting my story(ies).**

**To all who didn't review, I'd love to hear from you! ;D It encourages me to keep writing.**

**Disclaimer: Despite Don't touch my Seaweed Brain's beliefs, I am not Rick Riordan. Sorry to disappoint you.**

**Dedication: This one goes to TheGreekMenace for reasons which you will discover and to Don't touch my Seaweed Brain for her ever-excited personality and fun reviews. Enjoy! ;D**

Chapter Eighteen

Third Person

Percy's POV

He found him out by the sewers near the entrance to the hideout. Percy was a little surprised that no one had posted a guard around him - not even Octavian - but he guessed that just about everybody felt at least a little bit sorry for the guy, and that nobody wanted to mess with **Annabeth.**

"Hey," the demigod spoke, coming up beside his counterpart and sitting down. Perseus' head jolted in his direction for a second, and the half-blood saw him jump.

"By Tartarus that's so,.. Your voice-"

"Yeah, I know," Percy murmured back, smiling. "That's what I first thought when I heard you."

The one eyed boy raised his hand to rub his head, a look of concentration passing over his face. "It's weird. I think back on moments like that, and I know what I did and that it seemed fine at the time, but now it just doesn't sit well."

"Cora?"

The half-blood shook his head.

"No. I mean, sure, sometimes it was Cora, but it can't just be that. The difficult part is telling when it was Cora and when it's just guilt."

The son of Poseidon nodded towards his double in understanding. He looked up from his hands. "So, why the sewers?"

The other teen shrugged his shoulders, gazing blandly at the murky water.

"Thought I might as well join the rest of the garbage. Keep the stench away from everybody else in there."

The river of sludge gurgled in agreement.

"Not everybody feels that way, you know." Percy told him, his brow creasing a little.

"Oh yeah, which ones? The ones that pity me because I'm messed up or the ones who pretend that I'm already dead?"

The sea child stayed silent. He wasn't about to start an argument with himself. They lapsed into another silence.

"I know why you're here." Perseus mumbled, "And I know that she sent you."

"You already knew about the trials." the first teen stated.

"At this point," the one eyed boy stated dryly, I don't think it's possible not to."

"Are you going to do anything about it?"

Perseus stared over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is that what she's worried about?"

Percy met his gaze. "She just doesn't want you to get hurt."

"Yeah, well," He looked down at his hands, twitching his fingers slowly back and forth. "She can stop worrying. I don't see the point in doing anything stupid. Either way I'm going to die in the end. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

"You know she forgives you." the son of Poseidon interjected, looking over at his one eyed counterpart. "My Annabeth, I mean. She wanted you to know that everything was alright."

Perseus clenched his fists and shut his eye. The water bubbled beneath him.

"It's not the same. It's not like, like-"

"Like _your_ **Annabeth**." Percy finished for him.

"No," the other boy spoke in response. "Not _my_ **Annabeth**. She's never been my **Annabeth**."

The green eyed hero stared at his counterpart, thinking for a moment. "Is that what you want?"

The one eyed half-blood's head shot up, his muscles tightening as his form stiffened, becoming more guarded.

"What do you mean?"

"You said it yourself," Percy answered. "We're the same person. We have the same skillet, the same tendencies. Maybe we share the same feelings, too. I just don't have something holding me back."

Perseus' gaze shifted to him and an orb of blazing green burned into the hero's skull. "Nobody's getting hurt anymore." he told him in annoyance. "Least of all **Annabeth**."

"Did you ever consider that she'll be hurt more by you pushing away from her than by you getting closer to her?"

"SHUT UP YOU HEROIC PRICK! I'M ABOUT TO _DIE_!

The tunnel went silent immediately, the echo of his shout dying out further down the piping system. The water rippled outward in a terrified haste. The angered demigod looked down, his shoulders slumping as his fury dissipated.

"Sorry."

"I'm not going to pretend to know what in Hades you're going through." Percy told him, his tone no-nonsense. "But whatever it is, **Annabeth** will. Don't ignore her forever. You'll lose something worth more than just your life."

The demigod stepped away from his counterpart, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

Third Person

**Annabeth's** POV

Two days passed before **Annabeth** was finally cleared by Will for release from the hospital wing. Percy and Annabeth had come to see her a couple of times, and she had met Mia, but...

"No no no no NO! You're not allowed in here! I told you yesterday that if you came around here one more time I would run you through!"

**Annabeth** opened the door and rushed out to see one of the Apollo girls with a knife to Perseus' throat, pushing him back and pinning him against the wall. She was reaching for the bow and arrows strapped to her back.

The gray eyed half-blood let out a laugh, letting her relief bubble up and out. Perseus and his assailant turned towards her, and the son of Poseidon's face shifted from relief to embarrassment to fear. He looked like he wanted to bolt at the sight of her, but that he wanted more than anything to stay. She went over and grabbed his hand.

"But Anna-"

"It's alright," she told the daughter of the sun god. "He can come in."

The girl shot a dirty look towards Perseus before letting him pass. Through the corner of her eye, **Annabeth** saw the boy look down at her hand gripping his. He swallowed.

"You're, um, You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

The blonde looked back and gave him a light smile of reassurance. He looked so awkward and out of place.

"Perseus, I am never going to make things easy for you."

She pulled him into the room and let go of his arm. **Annabeth** moved to get her knife and invisibility cap off of the nightstand, pausing when she realized that he hadn't followed. The blonde looked up at the door. Perseus dawdled at the entrance before stepping in slowly. The boy hesitantly settled at the edge of her bed.

"It's been a while, hadn't it." She spoke softly, looking down at her fingers. "Since we've actually just sat and talked like this."

Perseus nodded before laughing nervously. "As I remember, the last time we tried, I left with this."

The daughter of Athena blushed, a bit ashamed, as the green eyed boy pointed to his scar.

The room fell silent.

"Hey," The son of Poseidon wrung his hands together before raising one and running it through his hair. "I- I wanted to thank you again, for- you know."

She saw him glance at her bandaged arm before looking quickly away. **Annabeth** felt a pang. It had been so long since she'd seen Perseus like this - so vulnerable, so _human_. The child of wisdom reached out and grabbed his hand, looking him in the eye.

"It wasn't your fault," she told him firmly. "You couldn't have known.

"But I should've realized." His voice was shaking. His gaze met here's and she saw that his green eye was glazed and misty, unfocused by pain. "When I first met you at Camp, you treated me differently than anyone I had met before. Oceanus, the Titans, all of the others - they never really cared, and I think that part of me knew. I just kind of hoped... I wanted them to know that I wasn't entirely useless, so when the mission to Camp came up, I thought it was my chance. He- Be was my _father_ - or I thought so, anyway - and I just wanted to finally please him. But then I met you and I almost-" The demigod stopped and swallowed, clutching his hands tightly together. "It almost wasn't worth it anymore, trying to please him."

"Perseus-" she whispered.

"Not Perseus," he told her with new conviction. "Never again. That was the name of a Titan's lapdog. Oceanus doesn't own me anymore."

The daughter of Athena felt a small bubble rising in her chest, but it wasn't a bad feeling. She sat down next to him, easing into the bed.

"What do you want to be called?"

The demigod placed his hands down on the bedspread, wiping them nervously on the cloth. He hesitated, his breath shaky.

"Percy."

He stared at the floor, almost looking like he was waiting for a blow. **Annabeth **nudged him with her shoulder. He didn't look up.

"Percy." The boy looked at her, his head shooting up. She gave him a small smile and a laugh. "Okay."

The green eyed boy blinked and then he slowly smiled back.

She took his hand and heard his breath catch as she leaned against him.

"Do you think," **Percy** stuttered. "Do you think we could ever be like them? After everything that's happened-"

**Annabeth's** chest turned cold. Pictures flashed across across her memory. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

"Everything takes time." the girl spoke, looking at the hard packed dirt floor. "But it wasn't your fault."

"Right." The sea child's words were strained. "It wasn't my fault." He pulled his hand away from hers, the smile melting off of his face. The daughter of wisdom's hand felt suddenly empty, her chest not far behind.

"When-" **Annabeth's** words caught in her throat. "When's the trial?"

Perseus' knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the bed sheets. "In a couple of days. The council wants to get it over with as soon as possible. That's why I came to apologize now."

"Hey," She prodded him. "Poseidon won't let anything happen to you. He lost you once, and I don't think he's about to let it happen again."

"And what if he can't convince the council?"

**Annabeth** stared at him, a hint of defiance in her eyes. "Then _I_ will."

**Percy** was silent for a moment, just watching her.

"Why do you trust me so much?"

The blonde half-blood watched him and this time he stared back. She knew what he was feeling: He was looking for a lifeline - something to tell him that what he was seeing was real.

"Because I've known you." the teen spoke softly and sadly, feeling so much older than she really was. "And because I've recently had a bit of a wake up call."

"Yeah, well," **Percy's** gaze shifted around the room. "He's pretty great, isn't he."

"That's not what I meant."

The black haired boy just nodded, looking towards the door like he wanted to take off. His face was screwed up like he was sick to his stomach.

"Gods, you're such a Seaweed Brained idiot." **Annabeth** spoke in frustration. She grabbed his head, turned it to face her, and smashed her lips into his.

When the girl finally pulled away, the sea's son just stared at her, his eye wide and his mouth agape. He moved his jaw like he was trying in vain to speak, but nothing would come out.

"Come on," the girl stood, offering him her hand. "Percy and Annabeth are going to help us with this trial problem.

"We're going to Olympus."

**There you go. ;D Hahaha. You can thank TheGreekMenace for the kissing moment. I wasn't sure about putting it in, but he/she mentioned wanting them to kiss in a review. ;) (See, this is why reviews are _good_.) :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**Morning everybody! ;D We have maybe around four chapters left, so we'll be saying goodbye soon. But until then, Minions, enjoy the story! :)**

**Daughters of Fate - I'm glad you love it so much, and yes, they did indeed kiss. ;D**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Yeah, Perseus was pretty shocked, wasn't he? ;D And I'm glad you noticed his change in attitude. He's been affected badly by Oceanus, but he's still in love with Alternate Annabeth. :)**

**Maddie - Hahahahahahaha. :D I'm glad you'll be happy, but please don't die. ;)**

**ChocolateWriter - Your new OTP? Awwwwwe, I'm so flattered! :D**

**Guest - I'm super flattered to hear that it's one of your favorites. I'm glad you like it so much. As for the happily ever after, ... Well, you'll see...**

**Hibernia12 - I liked it, too. I'm glad it turned out so well. ;D**

**TheGreekMenace - I'm glad I could make your heart skip a beat, it means I was successful. ;) Thank you again for the suggestion. It turned out even better than I'd hoped. :D**

**ArcherGirl12 - Yes, finally. ;)**

**Willakarra - The 'trial problem' is that the gods don't know about Cora and they're going to condemn Alternate Percy. As for the Villain, everyone already knew who the bad guy was. I don't understand, but okay. If it makes you feel better to say that, then I guess...**

**Thanks to Red Moon Lollipop, to . , to DieHardKataanger, and to dragonfan68 for Following and/or Favoriting me and/or my story.**

**To all who haven't reviewed, we're nearing the end. You only have a few chances left...**

**Disclaimer: Uncle Rick doesn't have an awesome Percy with an eyepatch. Woohoo! ;D**

**Dedication: To Don't touch my Seaweed Brain for planting a thought in my head...**

Chapter Nineteen

Third Person

**Annabeth's** POV

**Percy** was still gaping when they climbed out of the manhole and up into New York. Percy and Annabeth were already waiting for them. As soon as the other son of Poseidon saw his double's dazed expression, he squinted his eyes and blinked a couple of times.

"Is he okay?" the black haired boy asked. His one eyed counterpart sat down on a pile of building-rubble and put his face in his hands.

"Oh," Annabeth spoke. "I know _that_ expression." She shoved her boyfriend in the side. "You looked exactly like that on Mt. St. Helens. Don't worry about him. He'll be just fine."

"Are we waiting for Jason?" Percy asked. "Or is he not coming?"

"Jason!" The one eyed half-blood's head shot up. "Jason Grace? Are you _kidding_ me?! No. Why don't you just kill me now."

"He's only coming to help us start up the elevator." **Annabeth** told him, her voice displaying her growing concern.

"Oh, right, the elevator." The teen stood. "Now I _know_ you must be kidding me. We're riding _that thing!?_"

He turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

"**Percy**!" the daughter of Athena called. The Hero of Olympus and his girlfriend may have been surprised, but the demigod wasn't looking at them. Her attention was focused on the boy walking steadily away from her.

"Forget it, **Annabeth**." he called out behind him. "I can't do this right now."

"Do what?"

A head popped out of the manhole in front of them, and the blond haired son of Jupiter stepped out. The sea child took a step back, his scar twitching beneath his eyepatch.

The gray eyed commander caught up with them, taking **Percy** by the arm.

"Nothing." she told him. "Thanks for coming, Jason."

"Sure," He shot a side glance towards **Percy**. He looked just as uncomfortable as the son of Poseidon did.

"Come on," the other Annabeth grabbed her arm. "We've got an elevator ride to catch."

***Line Break***

The first thing that **Annabeth** noticed was the mortals. Morpheus had already been captured and tried by the gods, and obviously it hadn't gone well for him. Groups of people were mulling around in groggy confusion. The half-bloods captured there attention almost instantly.

"Hey!" A red headed girl stamped her way over toward them, approaching them with a purpose. She stopped in front of **Percy**, and **Annabeth** disliked her immediately.

"What's going on? Who are you guys? What's with the swords?"

Her rapid-fire way of speaking was already wearing at the blonde girl's patience. The half-blood had to grit her teeth and tighten her fists just to keep from going half crazy and lashing out.

"Rachel!"

All attentions shifted to Percy, and Annabeth then stepped out beside him, her mouth falling open slightly. The red head stopped talking (for which **Annabeth** was grateful) and looked over, narrowing her eyes to stare at him.

"Do I- Do I know you?"

"Uhhh," He suddenly blushed awkwardly, closing his mouth and running his hand through his hair while turning away.

"I think-" the red head stuttered, "I think I saw something in a dream once like-"

"Percy," his girlfriend interjected, grabbing his arm. "We should really go."

The others let the daughter of wisdom lead them away from the 'Rachel' girl as she stared after them, her expression disturbingly calm and mysterious.

Jason was the first one to break the silence.

"What was that about?"

Percy blinked, not breaking his stride to turn around. "You just met your Oracle."

Nobody spoke for a while after that. Nobody knew what to say, or even wanted to ask.

Somehow **Annabeth** ended up walking next to Jason with **Percy** trailing behind.

"So, um, uh." he started, his voice seemingly emotionless. "When we went in intending to _destroy_ Perseus, I didn't entirely expect it to turn into a recon mission where we'd be bringing home an evil demititan commander."

"He's not a demititan." the demigod spoke, looking down at her feet.

"Right." Jason muttered. "So that changes everything, doesn't it."

"Jason-"

"What's wrong with you, **Annabeth**? Is it because of these new people? You've been acting strange lately, and it's almost like you're a completely different person now." He glanced in front of them at the two demigods from another world. Percy had his arm around Annabeth's waist as they walked, and the two of them were talking and laughing, as if the depressing world around them didn't exist. His pointed gaze returned to her, as if they had somehow proven his point.

"Do you see how it's like nothing else around them matters?" **Annabeth** asked him, halfway in a daze. "Like nothing affects them... I've always wanted to know how that feels. To always have trust that it'll turn all right, even though the figures say differently. My trust was broken at such a young age: My trust in my father, my trust in Luke, and then in **Percy**. After that, I couldn't shut the world out; it all came rushing in." She fingered the hilt of her knife loosely in thought, then looked up at a pair of electric blue eyes. "I've met Luke's father maybe once or twice, and he always emphasized not giving up on family. Now that we finally have peace - now that I know what really happened all those years ago with Perseus - I feel like I finally have something to hold onto. Something that's come back to me that I never want to let go."

The gray eyed girl looked back and glanced at **Percy**. He was staring at the broken pavement as he shuffled forward, never looking up. He closed out the world a little too much, **Annabeth** thought. Maybe they could help each other. She hesitated, then spoke again.

"Maybe I am a different person, but then again, so is he."

Jason looked at her. He stayed in that position for a good few seconds. "Is it because of them," he nodded to Percy and Annabeth, "or is this really what you want? Because the base is going to want to know that you haven't been brainwashed."

**Annabeth** looked back at **Percy** again, and this time she was hit by an orb of sea green. She smiled lightly at him, not turning back around.

"This is what I want."

Third Person

**Percy's** POV

**Percy** hadn't seen the elevator in years. He supposed that that was a testament to how long the end of the war had gone overdue. He hadn't realized, though, what his men had done to the building around it until he had returned to the base that day. His father hadn't been very happy about the fact that Perseus had lost track of his men. He'd expressed his feelings in no uncertain terms. He still had the scars to prove it.

All in all, he didn't have very good memories about the elevator.

Annabeth saw it and she let out a tiny choked gasp. He had forgotten that she'd never seen it before.

"That's no where near architecturally safe. There's no shaft! I thought Jason just had to get us up and running or something, but not this!"

**Percy** walked up beside her, finally reaching them. "Now you know how I feel."

"Yeah, well," Jason muttered, "I think we all know who's fault it was that it turned out like this anyway."

The raven haired half-blood clenched his fists, staring at the boy in frustration.

"This wasn't my fault!" he yelled, his tone a mix of exasperation and fury.

"You mean actually not your fault?" Jason asked him, "Or do you mean not your fault like Thalia's death 'wasn't your fault'."

The group fell silent. **Percy** felt like he'd been stabbed in the ribs so he couldn't breathe.

The son of Jupiter stepped up to the sparking, spluttering machine and placed his hands on either side of the doors. His hair spiked up a bit as the electric current ran through him. After a second, the dented doors jutted open, and Jason stepped back, looking at them expectantly.

"Have you ever tried this before?" **Percy's** double asked, staring up at the darkened clouds above.

"Never." **Annabeth** answered, walking past him and into the elevator.

As soon as they were all in, Jason stood outside, preparing to close the doors.

"You're not coming with us?" Annabeth asked.

"No, I have to control it from our here." the blue eyed boy gazed at the metal box. "If I'm in there with you I won't be able to see where I'm taking you."

"How does it work?" Percy asked.

"I use the wind and the electric current from the clouds to carry you up." Jason told them. "So let's pray that I get it right and that you don't end up fried."

With that the doors closed, and the four of them were locked in.

It might've been okay if **Percy** hadn't been conscious of the fact that they were flying through midair. He had never been comfortable in the air, except maybe on a pegasus. Now, of course, he knew why. It was the demigod's natural reaction based on his father's shaky relationship with Zeus. His counterpart appeared to be feeling at least a little bit of that same fear. Percy's fingers were twitching, and every once in a while he ran them through his hair.

The girls seemed to be alright until the metal started heating up. The elevator bounced around as they hit a stream of turbulence. **Annabeth** let out a cry as she was thrown against the wall. The hot metal burned her skin at the touch.

"**Annabeth**!" The boy bent down quickly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away from the wall and crouching in the middle of the small square floor. The teen closed his one green eye and focused. He felt a clenching in his gut as the water particles gathered to him for the air. **Annabeth** flinched beneath him as the raven haired half-blood placed his hand on her burned skin. **Percy** watched calmly as the water particles hovered over her skin and sunk in. The burn disappeared and her skin returned to its normal pallor.

"How did you do that?"

The son of Poseidon looked up at his counterpart who's face was switching between confusion, awe, and respect. **Percy** just stared at him before looking away. Raising his teeshirt to show them his scars.

"You're forced to learn a few tricks when your father makes you train with Titans."

The elevator jutted one last time before opening. **Percy** pulled down his shirt and stood, moving quickly to the door.

"Come on." He spoke. "Let's go meet the gods."

**I know that this chapter didn't move very far, but as we get closer to the end they're going to start covering less ground. Instead, we'll be focusing on character development and moving toward the final resolution. I hope you liked it! ;D Tell me what you think! ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Minions, the time is drawing nearer, and we must all face our demons - our fears. Welcome to my frightening reality. Mwahahahaha...**

**Maddie - Hahaha. ;D Well, please do keep bothering me. I like having you around. :)**

**ChocolateWriter - Sorry, but it's true. You only have maybe three chapters left. :(**

**IIII Winter Wolf IIII - No Pregnancy. Definitely Not.**

**Hibernia12 - ;) I'm glad.**

**Willakarra - Actually, character development is very cool, and Rick Riordan does it very well. Just notice the differences between Percy and Annabeth at age twelve and then at age sixteen/seventeen. It's really astounding how realistically different they are. :D**

**ArcherGirl12 - You'll see. ;)**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Yes, the end is coming. And if Percy can heal himself with water, why not harness that power for other people? And with Rachel, well.., Annabeth got used to her eventually, and now there friends in the actual Percy Jackson world. ;D I love Rachel as a character. She's so fun! :D**

**Thank you to Mitsuru Pekkinen-Kirijo and to Star horse for Following and/or Favoriting this story. ;D**

**Disclaimer: I'm more evil. You will see...**

**Dedication: To P3rcab3thFor3v3r. I put up with your Spanish and you put up with me. ;D**

**Enjoy, If you can...**

Chapter Twenty

Third Person

**Annabeth's** POV

Olympus hadn't changed much since days before when the daughter of Athena had been up there with Percy and Annabeth. It was still bleak and deserted, but this time it was because of the trials. The minor gods and goddesses were probably all watching replays on Hephaestus TV as if they'd been designed for entertainment.

As they got closer to the throne room it became obvious that the group wasn't expected. **Annabeth **could hear Zues's voice from all the way down the Mountain. A trial - They would be interrupting a trial.

This would be fun.

"Kronos." **Annabeth** heard **Percy** curse under his breath. This was probably not the way he'd envisioned meeting his uncle.

The child of wisdom frowned, thinking back to moments before in the elevator. All of those scars...

She felt her arm where she'd been burned. There was nothing but smooth skin, and the only remnant if pain was the fragment of a memory. The one eyed half-blood looked over and saw her fingering her arm. The blonde tried to give him a small smile, but a picture if his scarred chest passed through her mind's eye, and **Annabeth's** stomach plummeted.

"Thank you." the teen whispered, leaning in closer to him so that he could hear. The ebony haired boy just nodded and looked away. After their moment in the elevator, she really didn't expect him to be talking for awhile.

**Percy** fell behind as they reached the top of Olympus, but the blonde let him be, and so did the other two. If they were going to interrupt a meeting with the gods, then it was probably wiser to have him _not_ go first.

**Annabeth** stepped to the front of the group and took a deep breath, preparing herself to be blown sky-high, right off of Olympus.

Opening the large marble doors to the throne room, **Annabeth** expected to be blasted to smithereens by Zeus's Master Bolt. As it was, his face turned bright red. The lord of the sky hated to be interrupted, but even more than that, it seemed, he hated cutting off his majestic, rambling speeches short.

"Alabaster Torrington, you have defied the gods and insulted your king. You have disgraced Olympus and its twelve thrones by joining with our enemy, the Titans." Hades looked a little peeved about the 'twelve thrones' thing. "We now grant you permission to speak your final words before our ruling is announced."

Alabaster hasn't turned around at the opening of the doors. He stared up as the thunder god, not once looking away.

"You're not my gods." the son of Hecate bit back, fury in his eyes and malice on his tongue. "I have no king, and I up-held no desire but to overthrow a tyrant. My mother has not been defied or insulted by me. _You_ disgraced her, but I took back her honor!"

"SILENCE!" the king of the gods thundered. "There will be no more talk of this! The ruling was almost entirely unanimous. You are sentenced to banishment in Alaska for the rest of your pitiful mortal existence. If you do not cooperate or follow and obey these commands, we will be forced to carry out your execution. If-"

"Is that all you people do these days?" Percy called out calmly. "Execute people and banish them to Alaska?" He took a step forward, coming up behind Alabaster. "Did you ever consider that he might be right?"

The son of Hecate's eyes widened as he swung his head to stare at the child of the sea. Zeus bristled, unable to form a coherent or complete sentence. "I- Why you-"

The son of the sea god grew serious. "You know that this war never would have happened if you'd only given the minor gods the respect and recognition they deserved."

The words hit **Annabeth** like a truck. He was right. Why had she never thought of that before?

"Who _are_ you?" Alabaster asked, his tone a mix of amazement and disgust.

"I- WHAT IS THIS INFERNAL DEMIGOD DOING IN MY THRONE ROOM?!"

Zeus finally seemed to have found his voice.

"Sorry," The daughter of Athena's double came up behind her boyfriend. "But we're going to have to cut this meeting short. You can finish the trial later."

"How did you even get here?" Hephaestus asked. "The building is demolished and all of the pegasi have been corralled in the stables so they won't disturb the trials.

"We took the elevator." **Annabeth** told them, smiling a little bit. She had her hands clasped behind her back innocently.

"WHAT?!"

"It's broken-" "-impossible." "-can't just-" "How did you-"

"_Stop_!"

All attention focused of Athena.

"**Annabeth**," she addressed her daughter. The girl looked up at her mother, and she could see her counterpart doing the same by force if habit. The wisdom goddess looked the blonde strait in the eyes.

"You still haven't answered lord Zeus's question: Why are you here?"

"We've come to ask a favor concerning **Percy**."

"What," Ares asked, "That we send him home? Why don't we just kill both of them? That'll get rid of the problem."

"Not me and Annaneth." Percy stated with annoyance. (**Annabeth** was going to correct his grammar, but his girlfriend was already taking care of it.) The boy crossed his arms aver his chest and glared at the god of war. "Perseus. His name is **Percy** now."

The gray eyed teen heard a giggle coming from the corner and turned to see Aphrodite smiling devilishly. The goddess of love had the gleam of a knowing taunt playing in her eyes.

"Never mind the name." the thunder god spoke, his voice displaying his smoldering anger and his wounded pride. "I'd like to know how you dare come in here asking a favor concerning that demititan scum."

"Watch your tongue, brother." Poseidon reared from his chair next to the king. "You may have lost the Titans as an enemy, but you can just as easily gain one more."

Percy taxicab-whistled, bringing the attention of the room to him. "No arguing. You can fight later, but right now we're going to talk."

Ares grumbled and slid down in his seat, a bag of popcorn disappearing from his hands.

"Fine," Zeus growled. He waved his hand and a confused-looking Alabaster disappeared from the throne room in a flash of light. The electric eyed deity turned to face then. "We will listen to your request."

**Annabeth** breathed in. "We would like for you to release **Percy** from your jurisdiction. You don't know all of the facts concerning his case, and the rest of us do."

"Are you saying that you would make better judges than the gods?" Artemis asked, her tone one of guarded defense. **Annabeth **looked over at her mother, but the gray eyed goddess just stared at the girl with slight approval, as if she was a puzzle yet to be solved.

"In this case," The girl turned back to the goddess of the hunt. "Yes."

"You are more insolent than your mother," the king god accused, his voice rising. "You come to me expecting a change in judgement. How can you be so contemptuous as to come into _my_ Throne Room pleading to me without making the object of discussion himself grovel for mercy?!"

"But **Percy** _is_ here." **Annabeth** spoke in confusion. She stared at the marble room, looking around the hall. Her heart froze when she saw the large marble doors slightly ajar.

"Tartarus." Poseidon cursed, his eyes growing wide. There was a flash of light and the sea god was gone.

"POSEEEIDOOON!" Zeus roared.

The daughter of Athena stared at the blank space behind her leading to the doors. Her blood ran cold in her chest.

"**Percy**?"

Third Person

**Percy's** POV

**Percy** was going to follow **Annabeth**, he really was. He had even almost been to the door.

But that was before he heard her voice.

"Well, well, well." the daughter of Metis called out. "Here comes the boy who caused it all."

The demigod's blood froze and he stopped in his tracks, his hand left hovering an inch away from the marble surface of the doors. The other three had already gone inside, but **Percy** couldn't help himself.

He turned.

"You know, you're the reason I'm being shipped off to Alaska?" Cora spoke through the bars of her cell. Whoever had the brilliant idea of putting the mind-controlling demititan in the closest cell to the entrance of a jail complex _right next to Olympus _deserved to be smacked.

The demititan sneered at him. "You little demigod scumbag."

The one eyed half-blood started backing up again toward the doors.

"What," the fair haired girl asked, "scared of me? But you don't have to worry about that any more, do you, now that you're all buddy-buddy with the enemy." She snarled at him and then sighed dramatically. "Besides," she rattled the shackles on her arms. "These chains break the connection between my mind and my target. Which, of course, means that I can no longer work on making you into the perfect soldier."

**Percy's** palms were sweaty. His breathing was uneven. His scar was burning horribly under his eyepatch.

"But I do have one last job." Cora told the half-blood lazily, her voice darkening. "Your father told me that if I saw you to pass on that he wants to see you."

The boy's blood froze, and **Percy** suddenly couldn't breathe.

Cora smiled at him.

"And we both know that I'm not talking about some pathetic sea god."

**Mwahaha.. Mwahaha... MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**Sorry. I am so evil. ;D**


	21. Chapter 21

**Maddie - Yes, More cliffhangers. Mwahahahaha...**

**P3rcab3thFor3v3r - Nope, Cora's still here. And it will indeed end. ;)**

**Willakarra - Thank you for the fix. ;) And yes, I know.**

**ChocolateWriter - Please don't cry! I'm glad you love it. ;)**

**Hibernia12 - Mwahahahaha...**

**ArcherGirl12 - ... :D**

**Don't touch my Seaweed Brain - I don't have much time, so this'll be short. I love your review, as always. Yes, I'm an awful, cruel person to do this to my characters, but it's cool to write. :) And yes, Leo is so funny. ;)**

**Thank you to shadowking 424 for Favoriting this story. ;D**

**Please review. We're just about done.**

Chapter Twenty-one

Third Person

**Percy's** POV

The walls of the cell block were cold - a temperature that matched the blood running through **Percy's** veins. From the dark corners farthest from the torchlight came the sounds of jeering demititans and monsters.

"Looky who's returned, the Prodigal son." "Coming to break us out, Perseus? Or are you having too much fun with your new 'friends'?" "Oh, the prophesied son of Poseidon! Are they finally throwing you in with the rest of us?"

Through the flickering torchlight on the cell bars the boy could see the haunting vision of mocking faces - faces of people whom he once thought he knew. The demigod pushed himself forward. He couldn't run from this. Going backwards was almost more terrifying than moving forwards.

Almost.

_Keep going_. he told himself. Perseus had to die in order for **Percy** to be able to live, and in order for Perseus to fully fade, he had to face his fears.

The half-blood stopped. He had come to a wall with a set of doors. The boy froze; his mind flashed to a set of doors carved with scenes of carnage. They were opening. There was a snake. There- They- !

The ebony haired teen stumbled back, falling to the floor. He skittered back through the empty hall - free of cells and windows and ... And doors. Except for one single set in a lone stone corridor. The one eyed boy was breathing heavily. His back touched the wall. The spear! **Annabeth**! He blinked and the vision faded. **Percy** hugged his knees up to his chest.

Something creaked and the demigod's head shot up. The door inched open and a small trail of water trickled out, forming the shape of a snake. It slithered over toward him and bit at his feet. Perseus jumped back, flinching in fear.

Fear. The fear had to die before Perseus could die. Then it could be **Percy.** Only **Percy**.

"I know you're here."

The voice came out if the crack in the door and travelled down the hallway, strait toward him. It was a voice all too familiar to the half-blood. A voice that sent another chill running through his veins.

_His_ voice.

The snake lunged toward his leg and it's mouth morphed into a hand. The water gripped Perseus' ankle tightly, bringing a cry from the boy's lips at its merciless hold. He was pulled onto his back and down the few remaining feet between him and the door. The water's grip shifted, and the half-blood felt a pressure on his back as he was pushed through the opening in the doors. The latch clicked, and there was only darkness.

The green torchlight flickered, and Perseus felt sick to his stomach. "So the lost little boy has finally come home." a low, predatory voice mocked. "The only place he truly belongs."

His cold, dark laugh echoed through the cell.

"That's not true." the one eyes half-blood backed against the doors. "This isn't my home."

"Oh, but it is." Oceanus smirked, the firelight showing the bare outline of his face. "I own you."

"You don't own me." the black haired boy muttered, fear freezing him and keeping him from moving. The water rose up again, pinning his arms and legs to the locked doors and securing him from escape. The half-blood struggled, secretly thanking the gods that the bars of the sea Titan's cell began five feet from the entrance.

Oceanus laughed again.

"No matter where you are, I will always find you again. I am in your memories, in your dreams, your thoughts, your decisions, your very _soul_. You will never be free of me," the ocean Titan spoke in a mix of growl and laugh. "No matter where you go. I raised you since you were a child, Perseus. Whether you accept it or not, I am your father."

"No."

The boy's voice shook, his body quaking with adrenaline and fear. The Titan frowned, and the bonds of water tightened.

"_What_ did you say?"

"I said 'no'." the demigod choked out. "A father doesn't take a mother from her son. A father doesn't lie to his only child for his _entire life_. A father doesn't put his son through the tortures you put me through."

"Shut up!"

"No!" His face was red now, burning from reckless anger. "You took everything from me! I could have had a mother! I could have had friends! I could have had a _life_!"

"I made you who you are!" Oceanus shouted, his anger boiling over the edge.

"You made me into a MONSTER!"

The sea Titan roared, and suddenly Perseus couldn't breathe. A liquid hand held itself over his throat, squeezing it painfully.

"I am your creator, you useless boy." the Titan Lord growled, a roar rumbling in his throat. "I have left my mark, and someday it will finish what I have started. The gods will regret all they have done when you give in to just exactly what you are. You are _my_ son. You are my soldier."

The black haired boy struggled for breath, fighting to speak.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore."

The air suddenly changed, and **Percy** felt a shift. It was only the span of a second, but it was enough. As the demigod strained against his bonds, the liquid restraints broke, spraying across the room.

The green eyed half-blood looked up from the floor, breathing heavily. Oceanus looked almost...

Afraid.

The sea Titan's composure returned, his face turning serious, but the damage was done. **Percy** had seen it. It was there.

"What?"

The teen stood, balling his fists as he stared across the room. He knew he shouldn't lash out - that would only make things worse - but he had held back for too long, and his emotions were overtaking him.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore." the sea child snapped, his face screwing up from a mix of emotions. He was showing anger, but on the inside Perseus was on the verge of breaking. He had been used for years by the only family he'd had left. Who was to say that Poseidon would be any different...

The Titan sensed his hesitation. Oceanus laughed deeply once more in a mocking tone.

"I see what this is." the being grinned madly. "Do you see these chains, son of Poseidon?" He rattled his shackles. "They restrain much of my power, but they can't control all of it. I have much more strength than your puny mortal brain could ever know, and someday I will get out. And when I do, I won't need you."

The boy's breath hitched.

"I _never_ needed you."

"No," he repeated. "No!"

The doors burst suddenly open from behind, wrapping around him.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore!" the boy screamed at him desperately, struggling against the person pulling him back. "I'm not afraid!"

"Let it go, **Percy**!" a man's voice called. "It's over!"

"No!" Perseus writhed against the set of strong arms holding him down, dragging him to the floor of the hall outside. "I'm not afraid of him! I'm not-"

"**Percy**."

For some reason, the soft voice brought tears brimming in the boy's eyes. His vision went muddy.

"I'm not- I'm-"

Perseus' voice deteriorated into a withering sob. It was then that the smell touched his senses - a whiff of clean, pure sea salt carried on an ocean breeze. The one eyed boy's face burned and he suddenly wished that he was anywhere but here:

Falling apart in his father's arms.

Poseidon loosened his grip and knelt down beside his son.

"It's over, **Percy**." the sea god whispered. "He can't hurt you anymore."

The teen blinked, his eyes burning with tears that wouldn't stop. His chest heaved as he buried his face in his father's arms.

"No,"

"**Percy**,"

"No, you- You don't understand."

He felt the being's hand on his shoulder, and Perseus looked up, gazing at a pair of deep green eyes.

"What don't I understand?"

The voice was quiet and gentle. More gentle than Perseus was used to hearing. The boy tried to speak. He shook as he said the next words:

"You don't understand what he's done to me."

He covered his face again, refusing to look at his father any longer.

"**Percy**," Poseidon spoke again. "Do you know why Oceanus acts the way he does around you?"

The teenager didn't respond.

"It's because he's afraid of you."

The half-blood's head shot up, his one green eye widening. He stared at the man before him, his mouth hanging open in awe.

"And **Percy**," The Lord of the seas assured him, "You are my son."

**There you go. Only one point of view, but it's a lot of emotions to take in. I hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think! ;D**


	22. Chapter 22

**Minions, I would love to write you guys a long, incredible author's note, but as of now my free time is zip. So this is it, guys. I don't have time tomorrow, so this is the last one. I made it work. Boom! ;D I'm sorry that this is coming to the end, and I'm sure that so are you, but we'll meet again someday. Check out some of my other stories when I next upload; it's fun to have all of you around and I'd love for all of you to come back and do it with me again. ;)**

**IIII Winter Wolf IIII - Yes, yes it is... (Joking.) But thank you for your complement.**

**Guest - Actually, this is the last chapter, and no. No sequel. But you can always check out some of my other works.**

**Maddie - It used to be at a specific hour, but my schedule has grown very hectic and it's been difficult to update. But I am true to my word! Once a day until the end. ;D (As for action, I love it too. And if I can combine action and emotional character development, then even better!)**

**Willakarra - Poseidon? Yes.**

**ChocolateWriter - Hahahahahahaha. ;D That's so sweet. I'm glad you like it that much. :)**

**Hibernia12 - Me too. Which is good for you, I guess, since - you know - I'm writing the story. ;) Enjoy the chapter. The very last chapter...**

**ArcherGirl12 - I'm very glad that you did. :)**

**xXTheDragonRider - Hahaha, that's alright. I 'm glad that you made it here for the end. The very last chapter. I'm also glad that you like my Percabeth pair. :)**

**Thank you to Blue Torpedo for Following and Favoriting this story. :D**

**Review, guys! This is the end of it all!**

**Disclaimer: Rick's book isn't out yet, my story is.**

**Dedication: To everyone who read this - to all of my minions who reviewed. Stay awesome everybody. :D**

Chapter Twenty-Two

Third Person

Percy's POV

By the time they'd found **Percy** and sorted everything out, **Annabeth** had practically had a panic attack, Poseidon had punched Oceanus, and Aphrodite of all people had convinced the other gods to follow through on the demigods' request and allow them to judge **Percy** themselves.

Zeus had been 'gracious' enough to have Dionysus transport them back down to the ground. The wine god's last remark to them had been about useless heroes and how they would all die eventually anyway.

Now, sitting in the arena with hundreds of other demigods, the son of Poseidon wasn't so sure that going to the gods had been such a grand idea. As soon as they had arrived at the base, the group of four had been hammered with questions. The half-bloods had taken action immediately and set up the trial. The judges had been voted on, and the results weren't good: Octavian had a seat on the jury, and **Annabeth** didn't.

Percy knew why they'd done it the way they had. The army was under the impression that **Annabeth** was being influenced badly by **Percy** and Annabeth and by him and that she would regret her decision later. They of course were wrong.

The army had wanted to get the trial started immediately, so the Hero of Olympus had found himself being herded into the arena - which still had a hole in its roof, mind you - separated from his girlfriend and their doubles. **Percy** was taken strait to the center of the room, and the judges set themselves up before him. Thirteen of them. They might as well have just left him to the gods.

"Perseus," Octavian spoke, standing up in the central judge's seat. "You have committed great crimes against the council and Olympus. You've murdered countless half-bloods, and now we find that - as a demigod - you have committed treason as well."

Gods, the little snot-brained scarecrow was worse than Zeus.

"I think we all know what's going to happen here. Don't bother speaking; you won't convince us. Demigods! You have chosen your representatives! Let us vote for you!"

"No!" Percy heard **Annabeth's** strangled cry. She was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd around them.

"I declare a unanimous vote of-"

"Shut _up_, Octavian."

Jason. The green eyed boy hadn't even noticed that he'd been on the jury. The blond half-blood shifted, standing. He glared at the son of Apollo.

"This isn't fair or honest, and you know it. When did we become so selfish and blind to what's going on around us?" He stared up at the audience. "What's wrong with all of you!?"

The demigods stared at the son of Jupiter in shock and wonder. Jason Grace was standing up for the boy who had killed his sister?

"Look!" the augur proclaimed. "Even the great Roman Commander has been blinded - tricked by this monster. Even he-"

"_Look_ at me you coward!"

The blue eyed boy was furious now, no longer able to stand Octavian's antics.

"I've lost more to this war than any of you." Jason growled. "Least of all you, Octavian. I lost my sister. I lost my fellow Praetor. I lost my cousin. I even lost myself." He gazed around the room, his expression steeled.

"I'm not about to let you take the only family I have left away from me."

Percy could hear the jaws dropping in shock. The mumbles grew louder, and the half-bloods began nodding in agreement to the blond boy's statement.

The straw-haired augur looked around him, his eyes that of a trapped, feral animal. He reached for his belt.

"If you won't do something, then I will!"

Before anyone could do anything, the knife was flying through the air.

Multiple things happened within the next few seconds:

**Percy** froze,

**Annabeth** screamed,

And a bright light encased the arena.

"Oh, shut up, Octavian." the old crone on the right croaked out, balancing the knife on her fingertips. "You never did know your place, did you? You've caused enough trouble already, child of Apollo. We're not about to let some self-righteous scum kill the boy we worked so hard to save."

Octavian's mouth hung open as he gaped at the being. Percy cracked a smile. Apparently the Fates liked Octavian just about as much as the rest of them did.

The three beings gazed around the arena, almost as if they were looking for something.

"Ah, there he is." the crone spoke up, tossing the knife behind her into the dirt. When it hit the ground, it turned into ash.

She was looking strait at him.

"I believe it's time to get you back, Mr. Jackson." the tallest one spoke, smiling. "Your friends are missing you."

The demigods near him stared his way, wide-eyed. They parted to let him pass through. The son of Poseidon stepped slowly down, his girlfriend and her double following suit.

"They're very worried." the second Fate added as the three stepped onto the ground floor. "It's not good for the Camp to be without its leader like this twice within two years."

"You mean that Annabeth went missing sometime else before now in their world?" somebody called nervously from the crowd.

"Oh, no." the old woman on the left spoke, laughing. "We mean _Percy_, silly."

"Things are very different in their world than they are in your's." the tall one - the leader - clarified. "Or maybe," she added, looking over at Perseus, "not quite so different as you think."

The shorter one, by that time, had wandered over to the other son of Poseidon. She pulled him down on his arm so that he was crouched down closer to her hight.

"Don't let Oceanus get to you, boy." she told him, elbowing him painfully in the ribs. "Your father does care quite a lot about you, you know."

"Um, thanks?" Perseus spoke awkwardly, straitening as he rubbed the left side of his ribs.

"Come on then," the woman on the left spoke again. We haven't got all day." She paused. "Well, actually _we _have centuries, but you do need to get back."

Percy stood in front of them, Annabeth approaching from behind. "But what about them?" he asked. "Shouldn't we stay for the trial and help sort things out? We're supposed to help them!"

"By the heavens, boy," the right crone grumbled, "we do get _some_ things right. Of course they'll be fine, now come come and don't dawdle. Your friends are waiting."

"But-"

"Percy." Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder. "I think they'll be fine."

He followed her gaze and stared back at the other two. **Annabeth** had her head on **Percy's** chest, and his arms were wrapped around her. He caught the boy's vision, and they shared a look.

"Yeah." Percy spoke, stepping back and taking Annabeth's hand. "Yeah, they'll be just fine."

There was a flash of light, and then everything was gone.

Epilogue

Third Person

The alleyway was dark and dank, per the norm to the allies in the new New York. (Of course they were, the mortals had refused to instal the proper drainage systems in their hastiness to rebuild and had gotten the piping structures all wrong and- sorry, sorry... Off topic.) The creature slipped in a puddle of muck, but struggled to its feet, rushing to get away. It was running from something. Two somethings. A set of shadows stepped out from the entrance to the ally. The first one pulled from his pocket a ballpoint pen. His one eye shown in the dim light of his companion's weapon.

"Please." the dog-like sea creature held out the bag. "I didn't know. Take it. Take it!"

The pair drew nearer, their weapons drawn for battle.

"Please!"

The young man grabbed the bag, wrenching it from the monster's grip. The blonde woman beside him shared some choice words with the beast before leaving him be, joining her partner at the entrance to the alleyway.

"Do you have it?" she asked desperately. "Is it there?"

The man opened the drawstring and into his hand he dumped...

A pacifier.

"Thank the gods." **Annabeth** laughed out loud, wrapping her arms around her one-eyed husband's neck. "I thought we'd never find it. Now we can finally get some sleep!"

"Yeah," **Percy** laughed, "And Josh and Mary, too. The poor kids. I was starting to give up hope."

"Come on." The curly haired demigod took his hand. "Kate is probably still crying. This had better work, or that creature is loosing his head. And the men want you to be _awake_ for your birthday tomorrow."

**Percy** chuckled again.

"I don't mind." He bent down and touched her forehead with his. "I wouldn't give this up for the world."

And he wouldn't, either, even if the world had once given up on him.

The two walked off into the city of New York, Pacifier in hand and all else forgotten. Lost in time itself - a place where only the Fates can reach.

**Alright guys, I'm afraid that this is indeed good-bye for now. I really want to hear your opinions on this, so please review! :D**

**Until next time, Minions. ;)**


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